Sun, sand, shipwreck

The destination has been decided: Rich and I are headed to Malta for 3 days next week.

^"1Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. ²The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold."
- Acts 28

Fire

The best thing about staying at Matt's place:

ho ho ho

All right, so I didn't get to see any of my family for Christmas this year, but I did go kayaking on the Thames! What did YOU do for Christmas??

Eeeeek

Just saw this story on the CBC website...

It's unlikely that I would actually know the family involved, but I definitely know that junction/intersection - I grew up near there. It's terrible because cars and trucks come flying down the hill and don't stop at the lights. Say a prayer for this family...

And just a reminder to everyone to drive safely and soberly this holiday season!!

It would be cool to hang them from the ceiling instead...

To all who were worried about me spending Christmas alone, feast your eyes on this setup:

That's a good haul no matter how you look at it!

Matt and Pip have gone away for Christmas so I am cat/house-sitting for them and co-opting their tree in the mean time. You know, it occurred to me just how odd a tradition it is to leave wrapped presents at the base of a tree...I mean, I'm sure there's reasons for why it started in the first place, but why not hang them from the ceiling instead? That seems no less random than bringing a tree into your house for the sole purpose of overseeing gifts. And yet, I found it strangely comforting once it was all set up...


Anyhow, I'm working tomorrow until 6pm, then I'm going to go to my friends' house for a traditional Polish Christmas dinner (which apparently has 12 dishes?!?!) and then probably midnight mass at Christchurch cathedral (mmmm...Anglican liturgy). Since Christmas day is my only day off, I plan on sleeping in until 1pm or so, opening my presents, talking to my fam on the phone and then going for a walk if it's nice outside. I also might call around to anyone who's still here and see if they'd like to go for a drink. Then it's back to work on the 26th.

Well that's all from here...Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it!

Dreaming of Adventure

Looking at the schedule at work today I realized that I am free from 12pm on Jan 3 and don't have to be back at work until 2pm on Jan 6. That's 74 hours off.

So I'm thinking Dublin, Geneva or Lisbon. Any comments on these destinations or suggestions of others? Keep in mind this 74 hours includes travel time to and from Oxford. Also keep in mind the time of year...

It must be Christmas...

There is

lots of

good news

today!

Brilliant

Another genius is Spike Jonze.

Too bad he's a corporate sellout (I avoided using the word 'whore' because I know that my mother reads this site ;D)

Sweet release

A day off - ahhhhhh....

To continue the story, that £10 note was used after work this evening to purchase the best beer and kebab this kid has ever tasted.

Something else I'd like to share: the song "I Believe in Symmetry" by Bright Eyes has become a bit of an anthem for me as of late. Conor is a genius.

Listen here.

Sing along here.

I particularly love that last verse:

The levity of longing that
Distills each dream inside my head
By morning, watered down, forget
On silver stars I wish and wish and wish

9

Rather than do any of my own work, I will just refer you to this link for information about our carol service last night. In short, it rocked. Pictures found here.

Surprises in the mail

I got 3 significant pieces of mail today.

The first was a tablecloth which my mother fashioned to put over my bedside table. Well I call it my bedside table, but it's actually just the box that my duvet came in. It is the perfect size and height for a bedside table though, and this cloth will make a nice covering.

The second was my ballot for the Canadian election (which is returned by placing an envelope within an envelope within an envelope). I've always voted NDP but I'm tempted to vote Liberal just to avoid a Conservative minority. However, I suppose I don't really believe in strategic voting.

The last and most peculiar piece was a plain white envelope with my name written in capital letters on the front. Inside was a £10 note and that was it. No card, no explanation, nothing! I would like to believe that it came from the lady who ripped me off £10 yesterday but that is rather unlikely seeing as how she doesn't know where I live. Regardless, I am grateful to the kind soul who did leave this for me and can assure him or her that the gesture is extremely appreciated. Merry Christmas indeed!

Here's a pic of the goods:

My friend Carol

Nothing makes a bad day better than belting out a few Christmas Carols with your friends.

Why I need a new job

Yesterday I went to in to work, despite it being my day off, to cover for my friend who was too ill to get out of bed. Now, I didn't have to do this, but I was the only person who could (all the other keyholders have left for christmas). Ultimately it made my friend feel better since she didn't have to come in, and the manager feel better since he didn't have to work a 14 hour day.
This is fine. I don't mind doing this because I hope that they would do the same for me if the situation were reversed. However, now I don't have another day off until Wednesday, which means today was day 5 in a row of 7.

This morning, a woman pulled the old "but I gave you a 20" routine. I told her that I was pretty sure she gave me a 10 and that we could take her number and she could come back at 1 when we cash up and see whether or not we were up or down. She became very rude and we got into a row about it, however during this time the queue was building and there was only one other guy working. In the end, I threw the 10 pound note on the counter, slammed the till drawer shut, and walked away. Sure enough when I was cashing up in the afternoon, we were £10 down. Now I've lost 2 hours of my wages because she is either stupid or evil.
Thanks a lot. Merry Christmas bitch.

Then, around 1:30pm, the guy who was supposed to come into work at 11 calls me to say he has the flu (fakes a cough) and says he won't be in today. Or tomorrow. I say fine, and tell him to call back and tell that to the manager when he gets in at 2:30. And I slam down the phone without listening to anything else he has to say. Of course, this wouldn't be an issue if the manager had hired more people to cover shifts, but he hasn't. And since most of the staff are gone for Christmas, that means we're pretty much screwed. He could hire more people now, but it usually takes a week or two to get the hang of it all. It wasn't so bad without him today because business was rather slow, but tomorrow all the kids will be out of school and people are going to be shopping like mad, so it's supposed to be one of the busiest days of the year. The girl I'm scheduled to be working with is good, but it will be her first shift in months since she's been away at university, so she's not exactly 'fresh.' And really, you need 3 people to close properly, so that means the two of us will be there for an extra hour or so to make sure everything gets done. Thanks a lot jackass.

And after all of that, I will still have another shift before I finally get a day off on Wednesday. Great.

This is why I need a new job...not just because of the stress, but because I hate the person it turns me into. I used to be light-hearted. I used to have faith in humanity but now I'm cynical and distrusting. I'm always on the lookout for the next person to steal 10 quid from me, or for someone to let me down cuz they just don't feel like upholding their end of the bargain. I hate being that bitter...I hate seeing the world through those lenses. I want to be able to dream again. To see the good in others and not always worry about my own well-being. To care and to make a difference in the world. Right now, none of that is happening.

Multimedia

Wow, Rick Mercer is really helping me reach my multimedia goal! Here are some clips handpicked by me in case you didn't want to sift through all of them yourself (all quicktime links):

• A tribute to America's Ambassador to Canada
  
• A Day with Canada's Ambassor to America
(this guy is hilarious!)
• On Denmark and the Gay Marriage Debate
  
• Rick Mercer and the actual Prime Minister of Canada
• The Prime Minister promoting Viagara...well, not really

And here's a couple of older ones...you'll need RealPlayer for these. The first is Rick Mercer interviewing people on my university campus... I remember my flatmate said he saw him on his way to class that day. And here's two more for good measure.

All of these clips are taken from here

Well, after watching all these clips I'm feeling rather patriotic....which is odd because I don't really believe in nationalism.

Canadian Politics

Well, they've triggered an election in Canada to be held in the new year. I've already faxed my required paperwork in, so hopefully I should be receiving an absentee ballot by post in the next few weeks. In the mean time, here is an interesting story to keep you entertained.

A little background before you read it:

So one of the campaign promises of the Conservative Party was that rather than give families childcare, they would just cut them a cheque each month for a certain amount of money (based on their family size, number of children, etc.)

So, a member of the Liberal party (which, for my British readers, is basically the equivalent to Labour) shot back saying that the money probably wouldn't go to child care but rather to 'beer and popcorn.'

So, an anti-Liberal party blogger decided to set up an on-line petition to question the Liberal party leader (and current Canadian Prime Minister) whether he agrees with his aide who suggested that parents would choose beer over their kids.

HOWEVER, in response to that, a famous (well, within Canada at least) comedian/satirist named Rick Mercer (he's kind of like a Canadian version of Jon Stewart...see above for some online clips) decided to set up his OWN petition demanding that the interests of beer drinkers be taken into consideration by the candidates. It can be found at www.beernotkids.com

I guess I've pretty much summarized the whole article now. And perhaps it's funnier if you're actually a Canadian citizen...ah well...

Spruce it up

In an effort to make my blog more multimedic, i will try to continue to post more pictures/video/audio files.

As a free taste test, please enjoy this sample from Family Guy:

Download the MP3 by clicking here.

Teaser

Well i STILL haven't got all my pictures up on my walls, but I thought that as a teaser I would post this pixelated picture of me brooding on the stairs in my room.


"Stairs in his room?!" you say?? Yes, it's all true....stay tuned for more.

Good quotes

Just got off the phone with my friend Rich who I hadn't heard from since that night we played pool. He had a good quote which I told him I would probably put on my blog, and here it is:

"It sounds like you don't want to be a coffee bitch any more... so... ummm... stop it."

:D

Thanks man, I'm gonna try....

Truth on the Internet

I was reading through a message board on AintItCoolNews.com (cuz I'm a geek like that) and came across the following comment:

by seppukudkurosawa		December 8th, 2005 11:09:24 PM CST
What do Christians have to do with Jesus?

I chuckled to myself and thought "Far too little, far too often."

Climate change

Believe it or not, I think this is a good thing.

Meeting God at the pub

Well, I was having a rather shit day today so I decided to nip across the street for a pint of beer during my lunch. Now, this isn't really allowed, however the manager wasn't in today and there were other keyholders there, so I figured I could get away with it. And I can't tell you how much it helped the rest of my day.

As I was sitting there, the song Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve came on the stereo. I've heard it many times before, but the first verse really struck a chord with me today...

"Cuz it's a bittersweet symphony, this life,
trying to make ends meet, you're a slave to money then you die."

It just made me think about why I'm on this planet and what I'm meant to be doing with my life. It made me realize that working in the coffee shop is just a temporary means to an end... that there's so much more out there. When I got back to work I decided to put on the new U2 cd (which also really isn't allowed, but again, I'm so much the better for it) and rocked out for the afternoon.

I'll be back there in 10 hours from now to open up, but then at 3pm tomorrow I am off until Tuesday afternoon, so it isn't so bad. I think I'll spend most of my free time applying to new jobs...and exploring my own sense of wonder.

Langford out.

Amusing conversations

I am currently on my break at work, using one of the internet terminals. My sole reason for doing so is to post this amusing conversation I had just moments ago.

Me (trying to choose my items for lunch): Aww man, are we out of fruit salad?
Katie: Yeah...but you can have one of these, we got them delivered by mistake...
Me: This is not so much a fruit salad as it is a BAG OF APPLES AND GRAPES.
Aga: Please! Don't be fussy.

Forgot one

I forgot one sign from yesterday's collection. I found this one while wandering around Hackney last year on Christmas day.

To quote Bart Simpson, "The ironing is delicious."



Click on the picture to get the big version.

If you still don't get it, might I duly recommend that you read 1984.

Signs

All right, my room is almost there but not quite ready to be photographed yet. To tide you over, here are some of the humourous signs I have photographed throughout my travels thus far.



This one from Stockholm I have already posted.



This one was in Brussels or Bruges....Belgian at any rate. Well, at least it's self-explanatory.




This one was from a fast-food joint menu in Lille, France I believe. Ok, I know that 'assiette' is french for plate or dish or whatever, but you really can't just shorten it like that. I was quite tempted to ask for the 'Ass Steak' or 'Ass Hamburger' but I think in the end I just went with a kebab or something...



This one is from Venice. Again, English clearly is not their first language, but at least they gave it a shot!


Ok, so technically this isn't a sign but rather grafitti (from Pisa, Italy). Still I thought it was cool enough to include. I remain undetermined as to whether that is hair or fire on the first person's head. Sometimes I like to think it's fire.



Lastly, apparently God doesn't approve of bare shoulders and knees. Or at least the Pope doesn't.


Ok that's all for now...pictures of my new digs soon!

Voila

Preamble: I had 3+ pints and no supper after a 8 1/2 hour work day, please take this into consideration.


Well, after work I went to the pool hall to meet my mate Rich, and his two friends. We played some 2-on-2 pool and had a good time., don't get me wrong. Two things to mention tho:

1.) There was a lot of 'male' activity going on. Even in jest, I've just never been able to get into competition. Maybe it's my socialist leanings or maybe it's the fact that I was raised by a single woman, but I simply don't get the whole need-for-superiority thing...

2.) There was a girl who was playing the fruit machine (slot machine for my North American counterparts) in the bar. After winning the £250 jackpot (the maximum you could win) she STILL continued to put money into the machine. It would be easy to make fun of her, but honestly I just felt sorry for her. Everyone knows that once you win the big prize, you walk away...you're not gonna do better than that. I hate to see people deceived out of their money.


And completely unrelated to any of this, I have come to the conclusion that I am a diasporic intellectual.

Londontown

Well it turns out that I have 2 days off in a row! Which is good, cuz I'm going to need them before working on Saturday.

It was the Swedish girls' last shift at the coffee shop yesterday, and although I hadn't worked with them a whole lot, I offered to take them out for a drink last night to celebrate. Well, one thing led to another and suddenly it was 3am and we were still at the bar...

Over the course of the evening, I somehow got invited to go Christmas shopping in London with them today, and since I've been wanting to go back to London for some time now and had the day off, I figured why not!

So yes, after very few hours sleep I reawoke and met them on the bus to London. Most of the day was spent in girls' clothing stores along Oxford St., but I knew that's what I was getting into and therefore couldn't really complain. We had lunch at Subway and dinner at the Knightsbridge cafe. We also stopped by Picadilly Circus and Harrod's to see all the Christmas stuff. I'm knackered but honestly, you can do a lot worse than spending the day watching Swedish girls try on different clothes in London...

So it's early to bed tonight and then early to rise tomorrow...I have to sort out a bunch of paperwork for the job and the flat as well as finish decorating and cleaning it up - not a very eventful day to be sure, but I need a lowkey one after the last week...


Also, if you have a few free minutes, I suggest you check out this post by my friend Rich - it is both interesting and hilarious. Here is a sample to whet your appetite:

"No one can judge the exact amount of room it takes to pass a truck and get back on the right side of the road as well as he can. After the first few trouser filling moments of seeing this skill, I relax. Jane, having driven with you in London and seen how nervous you get, don't go to Indonesia...


Akok is also very fond of The Horn, as is, it seems, the whole of Java. Akok uses The Horn at the following times: When something is in the way. When something might be in the way. When he wants attention. When it is raining. When it is dark. When the Cranberries are on the tape deck. When he's happy. Akok is always happy."

Weekend away

Well I was going to post stuff about our weekend away, but I think Suzie has done a more than adequate job here. So go read her stuff and pretend like I wrote it.

Work

Man, I forgot how much TIME work takes up. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's good to have something to do, and it's nice to think that I banked 50 quid today, but it's just so consuming...

There's a bunch of stuff I want to read and write...I also need to finish decorating, but I spent 9 1/2 hours at work today and will be back in another 9 (this includes time to sleep). Thankfully after noon tomorrow I'm not scheduled again til Friday, so hopefully I'll get some stuff done during that time.

It's kind of nice to be back there, in a way...I worked with a lot of good people today, and it's neat to have more seniority. I've also decided that even though it's going to be busy and terrible, I am going to actively try to be a blessing to the other folks who work there so that it's a good environment to be in. Well, that's the plan at least...

all right, so still no pictures of my room yet, but that's for two reasons. the first being that i still haven't gotten all of my posters and stuff from the loft in my last place, so i'm still not fully decorated. the second being that the internet access here has been down for the last two days so even if i wanted to post pictures i couldn't. however, if that is the case, you may ask yourself how i am posting this entry. great question! through the wonders of modern technology i am able to link my laptop to my mobile phone via an infrared connection and then use GPRS on the mobile phone to connect to the internet. brilliant! the only problem is that GPRS is really, REALLY expensive, and they charge by the amount of data transfered, so it's not really practical for anything more than e-mail and blog entries (generally text-based activities). it is kind of cool to think that i could send an e-mail from anywhere i can get a mobile phone signal though.

at any rate, it has kind of been nice not having regular internet access the last couple days. well, in many ways its a pain in the ass, but it has forced me to get settled in and get to know the other people here, which is a good thing. oh speaking of which, i guess i should describe the place where i'm living.

well, it's called "The Old Mission Hall" (or Mish for short) because it used to be, well, the old mission hall for St. Clement's church. At some point it stopped being a mission hall and they converted it into living accomodations. So now I am one of 10 people living here...5 on the top floor and 5 on the bottom. We each have our own room that locks but share kitchen, bathroom and living room facilities. Everyone I've met so far seems to be in their 20s and they have all been really friendly. It's a great location in Oxford and the rent is super-cheap, at least by Oxford standards. And the rooms, man, they're just incredible...I can't wait to get pictures up here!

In other news, I love the BBC! Don't get me wrong, I love the CBC too, but they just don't have the same quality programming that one can find on the BBC. Last night I ended up randomly watching this documentary on BBC2 about this muslim lady in Dubai who was running a shelter out of her house, essentially. She took in battered wives and children who were forced into camel racing and stuff. I think the lady was born & grew up in the United States but her parents were Arab? I'm not sure...anyhow, it was so inspiring to see her and the work she was doing...nothing short of incredible! You just don't get stuff like that anywhere else...

Well, I'm going away to Wales this weekend with some friends from hOME. This will actually be my first time in Wales, seeing as I've yet to make it there. But hopefully I will post some more before that though. Maybe even get some pictures up. Until then...

Greetings to Nunavut!

So I just signed up for a ClustrMap the other day, and according to this link, most of the visitors to my blog so far reside in Nunavut?? This is quite odd, seeing as how I don't know anyone in or from Nunavut, but greetings nevertheless! I'll try to spice things up for you a bit in the next few days...

Drop me a line if you really are from Nunavut and tell me what it's like up there!

Looking at the map some more (my northern geography is somewhat lacking) I suppose it could be northern Manitoba as well...

The up and up

So I'm moving into my new place tomorrow. I'll be sure to take some pictures once I have decorated and turned it into my home.

I'm also thinking of going back to work at the coffee shop. Yes, I know I hated it by the end last time, however it has been 3 months since I was there, and I'm going to need money to pay the rent. My manager said he'd take me back, even if it was just temporarily, so I'm thinking maybe until the new year, just to make a quick buck (or...quid?) and being determined to find something better by mid-January.

Also prayerfully considering applying to Regent in Vancouver for next year, seeing as how the Queen is going to kick me out of this country come September. Well, probably not the Queen herself, but some of her cronies anyway.

Yeehaw, comment spam!

Well I suppose it was only a matter of time. I'm surprised I got away with it for as long as I did! But eventually they always get you. I'm not talking about my rampant piracy, but rather comment spam! Yes, I had my first two messages last night, posted here. Therefore I have decided to turn on word-verification when posting comments, which means now you have to type a series of numbers/letters into a box to confirm that you a real person entering a real comment and not a marketing machine. Oh well, such is life I suppose.

My Canadian Hero

I just read this quote from Douglas Coupland and it rang so very true. It's not something I had really considered before, but I think it's quite accurate:

"Canadians also know darn well that, more often than not, our existence suits the Americans. We're indeed their back door, their underground railroad, their matrix - or whatever metaphor you choose. In some ways, if the war of 1812 had gone differently and North America was one big United States, the Americans would have had to invent Canada as a diplomatic construct, precisely for all the alternative strategies and options our presence affords them."

Week in review

All right, so I've been a crap blogger lately. But I've been busy every night since I got back from Sweden. Seriously, this is the first night when I didn't have something planned!

Tuesday I watched the Daily Show with Rich and Jim (thank goodness for More4) then went out for a pint.
Wednesday I went to Tom's house and played XBox with the boys.
Thursday was hOME small groups.
Friday was the Canadian poetry team at the Zodiac.
Saturday I spent the day here before going on a random trip to Ikea in Brent Cross. Or was it Brent Park? At any rate, it was near Wembley stadium in the end, wasn't it? We eventually met up with Suzie and Esme and had Swedish suppers before heading back to Oxford and watching I Heart Huckabees (and some Eddie Izzard) at Matt and Pip's place.
Last night was hOME which should about bring you up to speed.

In the midst of all of that, I managed to find a new place to live, but more on that another time.

I was downstairs in Blackwell's today (Britain's #1 book store!) and while I was looking in the travel section, a couple came along who were looking at guidebooks to Canada and specifically Montreal. I stuck around and watched them for a bit before heading out and just chuckled to myself. I'm sure they'd probably feel the same way about my guide to Oxford, but it's funny to think how one person's home is another person's exciting adventure...

Back from Sweden

Well, I'm back in Oxford now after a week in Sweden with Emmi. I had a good time, and we got along well, but we both knew that we just weren't right for each other. That's ok though - I had fun and made a new friend, and I can't complain about that.

However, now it's time for me to find a job and a place to live. My friend Jim has been kind enough to let me stay in his spare room, but I'd like to intrude as little as possible. So to all you Oxfordites (Oxfordians? Oxforders?) out there, if you know of anyone looking for an employee or flatmate, let me know!

Also, now that I'm actually going to stay in one city for more than a week, I hope to post more regularly. No promises though.

Shady's back, tell a friend...

All right, so I believe that the entry before this one was dated sometime in early September. Well, I've been busy...or if not busy, then at least away. Regardless, I'm not going to attempt to fill in the missing details in the middle...I've been across the Atlantic a couple of times and across the North Sea too..I'm going to cross that one again in a few days...if you really want to know what else I've been up to, just ask.

With that said, I hope to update more regularly now that I am back in the Kingdom of the United.

Walking through the city centre today, I ran into 3 people that I know...I think I've said it before, but that's kinda cool considering I'm not even FROM this side of the ocean. All right, that's it for now...a few more days in Oxford then I'm off to Sweden for another week and then I'm back here for good.

If you need my e-mail address just leave a comment on this story and I'll send it to you...I don't like to post it on the WWW in order than I may avoid unsolicited advertisements for penis enlarging solutions.

Night train to Berlin

Night train to Berlin, day train to Amsterdam, with a 2 and a half hour stopover in the middle (at 6:30 on a Sunday morning...what is there to do for 2 hours at 6:30 on a sunday morning in Berlin?!)

We thought we booked beds on the train to Berlin, but it turns out that it was just a seat in a compartment with 4 other people. Damn. Thankfully we went to the Carlsberg brewery in Copenhagen today and bought enough "medicine" to knock us out for the evening ;)

Oslo

We were randomly walking through Oslo last night when Mark's mouth got rather pasty. He horked a good sized loogie and spit it on the grass of the building next to us. It was then that I looked up and saw a bust of Alfred Nobel.



"Dude," I said, "you just spit on the Nobel Peace Prize!"

Things you learn in Norway...

The homemade meatball subs didnt quite go as planned.

I will be lucky if I dont have the runs tomorrow.

Pictures

The hostel we're staying at in Sundsvall has a Mac in the common room which is free to use, so I decided to brave iPhoto (in Swedish no less!) to bring these pictures to you...


Mark, meet Stockholm - Stockholm, Mark.



I took this shot under a bridge in Stockholm...I love it!



This helpful sign was posted all around Stockholm. Mark and I felt it belonged in the "Oh, no shit!' category...



This is a lake near beautiful Sundsvall...



And this is beautiful Sundsvall!

That's all for now...we're taking the train to Trondheim tomorrow, staying there for a few days and then down to Oslo.

Sundsvall

Spending a couple days and nights in Sundsvall, Sweden. We have yet to decide whether to head further north to the arctic circle, or across to Trondheim and then back down to Lillehamer, Oslo, Gothenburg, etc.

My impression of Sweden so far is, well, it's a lot like Canada....in all the good ways! Clean, woodsy, nice people. It's a little expensive, but I could get used to it here...might have to visit again in the winter.

In other news, it's nice to be on holiday...we went for a walk along one of the rivers in Stockholm this morning and it hit me that I was actually on vacation. No cappucinos, no medium popcorns, just Stockholm and sunshine. Excellent. I really could get used to it here....

Arrived safely!

Mark and I found each other and arrived safely in Stockholm!

The women here are all tall, blonde and gorgeous!

Life is good.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Well, it's finally here...tomorrow night I fly out of Luton and into Stockholm. I spent most of today packing up the remainder of my stuff and storing it up in the attic.

It didn't really hit me until Sunday afternoon, when I finished my last shift at the coffee shop. I'm finally done all of that. Wow. The long term future is still a little bit scary, but I try to assuage that with a healthy dose of denial. And hey, it seems to be working....I'm spending the next 3 weeks backpacking through Scandinavia! Then I'm going home for 6 weeks! I'll worry about what happens after that once I start getting closer to the date.

I wish I could leave you with some thoughtful, profound words, but frankly I got nothing. I'll update next from a different country :)

It started as a joke...

So I posted a comment on Julia's photo blog that I'd have to learn Portuguese in order to read what she had written. Originally, it was a throwaway comment, but we played it up a little bit and the more I thought about it, the more it didn't seem like such a bad idea! Now, some may think that I should be working on one of the scandinavian languages since I will be headed there soon, but honestly I'm only going to be in each place for a little while, and they aren't widely spoken outside of scandinavia. Portuguese, on the other hand, has a significant presence on almost every continent in the world (according to Wikipedia). It is apparently one of the top 6 most widely spoken languages! Now others may say that I should perfect my french before moving on to a new language, however I think that my french is about as good as it's going to get without living in an environment where I'm speaking it every day. I'm sure that the same will be said about my portuguese eventually...surely I'm not going to be fluent unless I immerse myself in it, however there is a certain amount that can be learned from books and CDs. Hence my purchase of this package:

Things to look forward to...

As I was telling Julia at the Phoenix today (who, might I add, is the coolest brazilian I know!) as I was on my way to work this morning I came up with a list of things I'm looking forward to when I come home. Now don't get me wrong - there's lots about Oxford that I love and that I will miss, however I've been here for 7 months and I'm only going to be home for 6 weeks. So here is an unnumbered list, in no particular order of things I am looking forward to:

• hugging friends/family members
• canoeing on the Big East River
• sitting in a muskoka chair, drinking a bottle of Alexander Keith's or Rickard's Red in front of a campfire
• visiting OPC
  
• waking up at 6am, driving for 20 minutes still half-asleep behind the wheel, making it to the highway, pulling over and stopping for a Tim Horton's coffee and donut before continuing on a road trip
• meeting Ryan's fiancee (yeah, he's freakin engaged!!)
  
• being able to say 'pants' without other people giggling
• driving over the Burlington skyway at 3am on my way to sneak back into my room in St. Catharines
• i'm sure there's lots more, that's all i've thought of so far....
• oh! Using pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters instead of pennies, tuppence, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p's
• 8.5" x 11" sheets of paper
  

Feeling Very European

I went over to Alberto's place (or at least the place he's housesitting) for supper last night and he made me pasta in a four cheese sauce. Absolutely delicious! I never eat that well! It went quite well with the bottle of Chianti that I brought along. Afterward we watched 21 Grams which I hadn't actually seen yet but have been meaning to see for some time. It was quite powerful!

This morning I woke up and took it slow. I've been finalizing my travelling plans. I can't believe it's only 2 weeks away! My last shift at the coffee shop is scheduled for Sunday Aug. 14th. On the 17th, Mark and I fly out of London Luton at 6:30pm and land somewhere in the vicinity of Stockholm around 9:45pm local time. From then, we have until Sept. 6 to explore & make it to Amsterdam where Mark will be flying back to Toronto. I opted not to leave Amsterdam until the morning of Sept. 8 (mostly due to the cost of flights) when I will land in Birmingham just after 10am. THEN, 2 days later, I will be leaving Birmingham EARLY in the morning (check in opens at 6:15am) and flying to Toronto! I will be returning to Birmingham on Oct. 22 at 11 o'clock in the morning. Now, this is where life becomes scary since, at the moment, I have no idea where I will be living or working. However, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it...in the mean time, I have Scandinavia to explore and friends/family to see back in Canada!

As I understand it, a few of my local friends are going on adventures of their own around the same time. Rich is flying to Australasia (including his home country of New Zealand) for several weeks and then spending a week in Norway once he returns. Alberto is also off to only God knows where...

It will be interesting to see people again come Autumn!

Self interest

In response to the last few paragraphs of this post by Rich, all I have to say is "word." Well, that and I only had to travel 3,500 miles.

News of the day

Because I'm feeling rather lazy, I'm just going to post some news stories that I found interesting:

• IRA says armed campaign is over - If anything good could come out of the recent London bombings, surely this must be it. Granted Ireland still has a long way to go, but I welcome with open arms any group who admits that they were once violent and are now renouncing their ways.
• Illegal downloaders are also biggest spenders: research - I could rant about this one for a while, but I'll try and keep it short. I'd like to take a shot at the final quote however:
  
  "Our concern is that file sharers' expenditure on music overall is down," said Phillips, who says that two-thirds of file-sharers buy less music than they used to.
  
  You mean people have finally realized that spending £15 on a commodified pop CD containing 2 good tracks and 13 filler tracks is a waste of money and only serves to further line the pockets of the fat cats at the distribution company? Good.
  
  
• Japanese develop 'female' android - This is cool, but incredibly freaky. Check out the pictures....that woman IS the robot!

That's all from me....I'm headed to hOME tonight and then going to see a staff screening of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Phoenix tonight. :D

Just a quick post cuz i'm using a touch screen keyboard at work;

I just want to reiterate my love for the phoenix picturehouse and what a great job it is! I booked my flights to Stockholm and Toronto this week, and while I am excited to go, I will miss this place...

Tonight

4 British blokes, 2 british lasses, a couple polish girls, a spanish girl, one Canadian and a nightclub in Oxford, England.

No really, this is my life.

How lovely...

What a wonderful evening! Rich called me around 6:30pm and asked me if I wanted to go for a swim. I didn't realize it until that very moment, but yes, I really did want to go for a swim! So I met Rich at his place then we walked all of 2 minutes to get to Hinksey pool. We stayed for an hour or so and then Rich offered me some dinner. After a quick trip to the corner store (ostensibly for lettuce and tomatoes, but mostly for beer) we went back to his place and cooked some burgers and sausage. We watched an extremely funny Eddie Izzard DVD and then I biked home. When I got home, Martin and Jules were watching Garden State and I snuck in for the last half.

Between ultimate frisbee in the park yesterday, swimming outdoors today and a possible canoe paddle with Matt tomorrow, that's gonna 3 of my favourite activies in 3 days. Not a bad score, if I do say so myself! Ahhh, how I love summer...

A quick note

Just a quick note to say that I'm ok and everyone I know is ok. Rather than writing anything else, I think it's worth reading this.

If anyone wants to contact me, my temporary e-mail address is christopherjameslangston >at< yahoo.co.uk but hopefully I'll have a new one soon...

God bless,
Chris

Happy Birthday Canada!

Canada, you are 138 today! Congratulations on making it this far.

To celebrate, I downloaded and listened to the CBC Radio 3 podcast -- and I gotta say, the Canadian indie music scene is second to none...the rest of the world has no idea what they're missing! Do yourself a favour and listen to the latest show....so, SO much good stuff (I was going to explain what a 'podcast' is, but rather than repeat the info, just check out the link posted above).

I also went to get a couple bottles of Moosehead, but sadly my supplier was sold out :( I think there may be a pub downtown with Labatt on tap, so maybe I'll try that later.

In other news, Queen's finally realized I'm not actually a student any more and will be removing my current e-mail address and this website in 4 days (July 4th). If I was smart I would already have a backup plan and site up and running, but seeing as planning isn't really one of my stronger points, there is nothing as such yet. Mattyboy and I were talking about getting our own domain name but that's still all up in the air. I'll figure out something, don't worry.
---
UPDATE: I have temporarily moved my blog to http://cjlangston.blogspot.com - I realize that this is only 4 days notice, but that's better than nothin. More info will be found here in the future...
---
Sorry I haven't posted a lot lately, I will try and be a better blogger in the future.

Hello, Hello.....Ola!

All right, still haven't sorted out my internet situation but should do so early this week (tuesday or wednesday). In the mean time, allow me to regale you with the following story:

So I went to Manchester on Wednesday to see the infamous U2 perform at the city stadium. I arrived around 2pm and walked to the stadium (about 20 minutes walk from the train station) just to figure out where it was and get my bearings. I asked some police officers if it was illegal for me to resell my extra ticket for less than the face value. They were very kind and said it was ok so long as I wasn't making a profit from it. I also asked if any of them would like to buy a ticket, to which one of them replied "I wish!"

Seeing as it was a rather large venue, and I didn't want to spend hours shouting about my ticket, I decided to head back into town, find some bright green bristol board and a big fat marker to make a sign advertising my ticket for sale. With these supplies in hand, I headed back towards the stadium. I thought that rather than make the sign in front of everyone however, that instead I would work on it on the rather secluded path along the way. This turned out to be a bad idea. I was about 3/4 finished the sign (two of them actually, which I later wore sheepishly as a sandwich board while I walked around the stadium, but more on this later...) when my 'spidey sense' went off. Y'see, I was wearing a hoodie and had everything in my centre pouch - concert tickets, wallet, keys, phone...everything, except that I was hot so I took it off while I was making the sign and had it on the ground bundled up behind me. So I turned around just in time to see a little punk with his hand on my hoodie! I didn't hear him come up behind me at all and there was no one else around, he was completely silent! It didn't click at first though I could feel that something wasn't quite right. He sort of pulled his hand back a little bit, but leaned over as if to read my sign. He asked if I was selling tickets and how much they were and if they were real and stuff...I told him I was just trying to get rid of one and he said he'd go and ask his sister...then he grabbed my hoodie and started to run! I shouted "HEY!" about 3 times at the top of my lungs and took off after him! He was a short little guy and I easily out-strode him. He only got about 5 steps before I managed to rip my hoodie out of his hand and to the ground. He looked back over his shoulder and I think he was surprised to see how large I was (I was squatting down to write the sign) and he kept running, shouting back over his shoulder and swearing at me (presumably for thwarting his attempts to steal my stuff? I really thought I was the one who should be upset, but I guess not, eh?) Relieved that I had recovered my goods I immediately went into 'travelling' mode and stuck my cash in my sock and the precious tickets down the front of my pants. I didn't want to risk being in a situation like that again!

Anyhow, I decided to finish the sign closer towards the stadium where there were more people and police around. I did a few circles around the stadium and car parks with said sign, but in the end it was all for naught anyhow. I was still a little shaken by the punk who tried to steal my stuff and in the end I sold the ticket for less than 1/2 price to a scalper. The doors were opening at this point anyway (5:30pm) and I just wanted to get inside. The first opener was Idlewild who I must say were excellent! I went out a couple days ago and bought 3 of their albums! Good stuff. Then, to my surprise Athlete also played the show...awesome. Finally the mighty U2 took stage, and what can I say...they were incredible! (So much so that I may catch a ride with Rich & co. next Wednesday to see them again in Cardiff, although I'd have to get a ticket there...) Bono really is an amazing man...I can't even fathom getting up on stage in front of 50/60/70,000 people and speaking, let alone preaching about how I believe "everyone is created equally by God," or about "having faith that God will inspire the medical community to create new drugs to cure terminal diseases." Wow.

So the show was amazing, but the story doesn't end there! I didn't really do a very good job of planning this trip, and just kind of assumed that there would be trains back to Oxford, or at least to London (from which I could catch a bus to Oxford) after the concert, however the concert didn't finish til close to midnight, and by then the only trains were going to York and Sheffield...not where I need to be. I tried the coach station, but of course they had been booked full weeks ago. Same story with local hotels and hostels. I even found an internet terminal and tried calling some hotels on the outskirts of town (figuring I could take a cab) but they too were booked solid. Having almost been robbed earlier that day I didn't particularly fancy roaming the streets of Manchester in the evening lest I run into that little hoodlum again, so I talked to some other police officers, told them my predicament and took their advice: sleep in the train station. Now, this normally wouldn't really be a viable option for me travelling by myself, however there seemed to be about 50-100 other concert goers who were equally as short-sighted as myself (I could tell they were at the concert due to their 'Vertigo Tour' t-shirts and the fact that many of them were either humming or outright singing U2 tracks). The station was clean, well-lit and there at least 3 staff members around at all times. Ok, so it wasn't the most comfortable or ideal, but hey, it was free (which a hotel room certainly would not have been...and after losing so much money on the 2nd ticket, it was probably better than I didn't pay for accomodation). I made some friends and even met a couple of Canadian girls from Ottawa! We all chatted for a while before trying to sleep on the floor...I didn't really manage to (mostly due to the helpful, intermittent announcements reminding me to stay with my luggage at all times, lest it be confiscated and destroyed by the authorities, or to let me know that 24-hour CCTV monitoring is in place at this station) but it wasn't so bad. It was actually close to 1:30am by the time I finally settled on the idea of staying at the station, and then the first train was at 5am, so it was really only 3 1/2 hours that I was there...still enough time for a few junkies and prostitutes to wander in off the street though! (they were promptly dealt with by security, don't worry mom!)

So that's my story...kudos to you if you read this far. All right, well I have to start work in about 5 minutes so I will sign off...hopefully the next time you read an entry from me it will be made from a computer in my own bedroom!

"Take these shoes
Click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes
And make them fit
Take this shirt
Polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt
And make it clean, clean
Take this soul
Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul
And make it sing" - Yahweh, U2

Quickie

Well for those who haven't figured it out, internet access at my new place hasn't been working thus far, but hopefully by this weekend it'll be all sorted out.

For the sake of interest, I'm currently posting this update from St. Andrews, Scotland - the birthplace of golf. Go figure.

Additionally, for those who were having trouble sending me e-mail, it seems to be working again, although apparently my account expires in early July, so it won't work for much longer. I'll give you my new address when I sort it out.

Also, this is worth reading, if you're into that kinda thing...

Moving on up...

Well, I'm spending my last few days in East Oxford before moving across town to West Oxford for the summer... I think that Wednesday or Thursday will be the magic date, although I haven't sorted it all out yet (dear oxford peeps: there's a six-pack in it for anyone with a car who wants to help me move! I reckon it will only be one car load, two tops...email me or text me!) Here is a list of things I will and won't miss about East Oxford:

Will Miss:

• being 90 seconds from the Zodiac
• being 90 seconds from Tesco's
• all the funky ethnic/independent shops along Cowley Rd.
• the crazy homeless people on the street
• the student 'vibe'
• my large room
• not paying council tax
  

Won't Miss:

• drunken students yelling outside my house at 3am
• drunken students yelling inside my house at 3am
• Cowley Rd. roadworks (that's 'construction' for my fellow Canadians)
• being a 1/2 hour walk from work and the city centre (that's 'downtown' for my fellow Canadians)

Here's the coolest part though - the house I'm moving to is on an island! Osney Island to be precise! Granted, it's not a very big island, and it is well connected to the mainland, however that's still pretty f'ing cool! Like I've written before, I have a deep connection with water, and so it's awesome to be surrounded by it! One of the banks is even the River Thames! All right, so it may seem like a small thing, but I'm super-pumped about it, so be happy for me! I think this place is gonna be better overall...it's about 10 minutes closer to the city centre (albeit on the other side from where I currently am) and I know the 2 guys I'm moving in with from hOME. It's also in a better neighbourhood, and it's right beside a pub! (which thankfully closes at 11pm, so no loud drunks after that!) It will literally be 45 seconds from my room to a beer, if I so choose. Awesome. Granted, it is a little bit more expensive than where I currently am which doesn't bode well for my Scandinavian trip, but I think I'll still be able to pull it all together.

Well, it's time to start packing...I'll write more from my new digs!

Revenge of the Myth

All right, so I still haven't blogged about Paris (as I was definitively reminded by folks at hOME last night) however there are more pressing things to discuss, such as Star Wars.

My schedule yesterday was this:

8:30am - Alarm clock goes off
9:30am - Queueing to see 10am showing of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
10:30am - After half a FREAKING hour of adverts and trailers, the film finally starts
12:45pm - I cross the street to work, already wearing my uniform, arriving 45 minutes late (although I had cleared it with my manager the day before, so he was ok with it)
8pm - Close up the coffee shop and head to hOME
10:30pm - Arrive back at my room at collapse into bed


On a side note, I was in London on Monday visiting my cousin Greg on his stopover to South Africa. He had to leave around 5pm to catch his flight, so I decided to wander down to Leicester Square where Star Wars happened to be premiering that night...I saw George Lucas, Hayden Christiansen, Anthony Daniels (C3PO), Kenny Baker (R2D2) and the giant of a man who plays Chewbacca (Peter something-or-other I think...I forget his name)...kinda cool.

So anyhow, I saw the actual movie for the first time yesterday morning, and I had somewhat of a mini-revelation...it suddenly all made sense to me. First of all I should say though, that once you come to terms with the facts that George Lucas simply can't direct, and Hayden Christiansen can't act, then you should be free to enjoy the film. If you get hung up on either of these aspects however, you're likely to miss out. As far as the prequels go, I think this would have been the hardest one to screw up...after all, George had to get from the end of Attack of the Clones to the beginning of A New Hope, and really, his hand was pretty much forced (as opposed to Episode I, where it was virtually open to his imagination...unfortunately)

But my revelation was this: ...actually, (like everything else) I don't really know how to put it succinctly...

George Lucas is an excellent story-teller but a rather shitty filmmaker. He is an extremely creative individual, and good at creating characters and over-arching stories, but really, he should leave the details to other folks. This is most clear when you compare Empire and Jedi (where he left the screenplay and directing to other people) to Phantom Menance and AOTC, where he did both himself.

The other thing that struck me was the content of the original trilogy vs. the prequel trilogy. I remember learning about Joseph Campbell's theory of myth in one of my university religion classes...this guy studied myths from every culture and every time period and came up with a sort of universal formula for myths to become successful with the masses - basically, it was a young, scrappy hero fighting an oppressive evil with help from the supernatural, overcoming great odds to prevail. This is a gross-simplification of an extremely complex study, but for this purpose (my crappy little blog), it will do. Anyway, apparently Lucas studied Campbell and was somewhat of an apprentice of his, applying his theory to the creation of the original trilogy. Not surprisingly, these ancient, tried-and-tested devices resounded with audiences who fell in love with the films (myself included).

What struck me yesterday however, especially during the first half of the film, was how he did away with that structure this time around. The prequels are focused more on the overall political manoeuvrings of the Senate and the Jedi Council rather than the story of a single protagonist who, with his group of friends, grows up to eventually bring down the evil empire. Now this could have been extremely cool, and in fact I really enjoy political dramas, however they are clearly not Lucas' strong point. I suppose it could be argued that George was trying to expand and didn't want to just recreate the original trilogy, however part of the theory of the 'universal myth formula' is that it never really gets old, so long as it is retold in new and interesting ways. Now this is by no means the only problem with the prequels, there were certainly many details that screwed them up along the way as well, however structurally speaking, I think George built on the wrong cornerstone...or perhaps the problem was that he didn't have a cornerstone at all this time around...

All that being said, Ep III was definitely the best of the prequels, and worth seeing if only for the lightsaber battles. There are a few scenes toward the end of the film where the wonder and the intrigue of the original 3 are hinted at, and I must say that it did stir the nostalgia inside of me.

Summer travel plans

Well, I have been thinking a lot lately, although I've been neglecting my blog. And rather than actually post a proper update, I'll just copy and paste an e-mail I wrote to my mom. It's a compromise we can all be happy with.

-Chris

Well, this is the rough plan at the moment:

Mark has booked tickets that arrive in London on Aug 17 and depart
Amsterdam on Sept. 6. I think that on the 18th we will fly to Oslo or
Stockholm. The plan is to spend the first couple days in the big city,
then kick off our 15 day unlimited rail pass. We'll use that throughout
Scandinavia, eventually working our way down to Amsterdam (before the rail
pass runs out!) then spend a couple days there before mark flies back to
Canada. Aug. 18 - Sep. 6 is 20 days, and the rail pass is good for 15
days from the first time that you use it, so we figure if we spend a few
days on either side in big cities, we should be set. Now, for
expenses....

The Eurail pass that we're looking at is this one:
http://www.raileurope.com/canada/rail/passes/eurail_youthpass.htm

it seems like the best deal...15 days unlimited, and it lets us travel in
norway, sweden, finland, denmark, germany and the netherlands (as opposed
to some of the other options, which restrict which countries you can
travel through) that's $500 CDN (I'm going to do the rest in Euros)

Flights to and from London, plus transportation to and from the airport
will be about €120 (€50 or so for the flight, plus €10 or so for a bus to
the airport/city centre)

beyond that, I'm going to try and budget €80/day for everything else
(accomodation, food, beer, sightseeing, etc.) realizing that some days
will be more expensive and some will be less. Sarah said she did Western
Europe on about €50/day, but Scandinavia is much more expensive (or so I
read/am told). So multiplied by 20 days, that's a whopping €1600. In
pounds sterling however, that's just over £1000, and I've already got £300
saved, so that's about £250-300/month between now and then. That wouldn't
cover my flights or rail pass however...

The other thing I was thinking about was that I don't necessarily have to
leave when Mark does, however financially speaking, it's looking like I
will. I'll have the time, so it would be nice to take another week and
work my way down to, say, switzerland, however that would mean additional
train expenses, and even at €40/day, that would be and additional
€250-300. Also, after 3 weeks I may be ready to head back.

The real question though, is where do I head back to? By that point Oli
will have returned from chicago and will be wanting his room back. I'm
sure it will be no problem to store my stuff there, and I could crash on
the futon for a while, but I need to sort out within the next month or so
whether I intend to stay in oxford or move on when I return to the UK.
(Or come home to Canada or move to France or Switzerland or whatever it is
that I do next! I think the UK is the safest bet at the moment, and I
don't want to waste my visa)

A Few Days in Paris

Well, I'm off to Paris for a couple of days, mostly just because I can! I have 3 days without any work, and I found a cheap bus ticket (£50 return, 8 hours direct each way from London) and I haven't been to Paris since 1998, so I figure I might as well take advantage while I'm over here.

I am completely knackered however, and I still have to pack, so I shall bid you adieu (in the most French fashion possible). Maybe I'll update again when I'm in France....

Cycling IN the Thames

Yes, you read correctly...not 'Cycling along the Thames,' nor 'Cycling beside the Thames,' not even 'Cycling on the Thames,' but rather 'Cycling in the Thames.'

It happened like this:

It was another lovely day in Oxford, and I had the day off, so I decided to hop on my favourite possession and head up the Thames today, rather than along the canal like I did yesterday. I came to one part where the path was very narrow and close to the bank, and I remember thinking on my first time past "wow, it would be really easy to fall in along here." I made it past all right, but on my way back, I wasn't so lucky. I'm not sure if I hit a root or a rut or what happened, but the next thing I knew, I was on my ass in the water, leaning back on my hands (think of the 'crab walk' position). At first all I could do was laugh at the irony of it all. It became a little less funny when I realized that my feet were stuck in the mud and would take some careful pulling to remove them with my shoes still on my feet. After about a minute of careful manoeuvring, I managed to crawl out of the swampy bank and retrieve my folding bike as well. I spent the next 5 minutes or so just laughing at my own misfortune. It's a shame that it was in such a rural part of town, because there was no one to share my laughter with (although I did get a few peculiar looks when I returned to civilization). So, all's well that ends well, however I'm probably going to have to purchase a new pair of shoes sometime soon.

The upside of this whole adventure (though not that the above was particularly a downside) was that I found my favourite place in all of Oxfordshire, and possibly, all of the world! It's an old tree that has fallen over an offshoot of the Thames and it is perfect for sitting/laying on. I took pictures of it and have posted them below...I think I'm going to end up spending a significant chunk of my summer here....




There it is!




This is the view as you approach




And this is me on top





(note the clean shoes and trousers...they are not currently those colours at all...)

I LOVE MY BIKE!!!

It is my favourite possession, bar NONE! It was a nice day so I decided to go for a ride along the Oxford canal and a few hours later, I found myself in Kidlington! Not particularly wanting to spend the same amount of time biking back, I just folded the thing up, hopped on a bus, paid £1.50 and took the easy ride home :D

This beautiful ride inspired another travelling dream for me: cycling across the UK! I'd start in Brighton and end up in Northern Scotland somewhere (maybe catch a ferry to the Orkney Islands or something) [EDIT: i found this after some more research - apparently it's the tried, tested & true cross-country cycling route]. Thanks to the National Cycling Network this dream isn't actually all that far-fetched. I reckon I'd need a few things though:

• a partner
• a real, solid mountain bike
• a better knowledge of how to fix said bike
• some spare parts
• good rain gear
  
• a map
• a tent
• a thermarest
• a sleeping bag

The only cost (after the initial investment in all of these things, of course) would be food. You could easily just find fields along the way to camp in, so you wouldn't have to pay for accomodation (except maybe in London or something). It would probably have to be done in the summer, and it would most likely take a while, but it's totally within reach. Probably not this summer, but maybe next, or the one after that. It's gotta be within the next few years while I'm still mobile enough to make it happen :P

In other news, I've also been thinking about the big move again. This Sunday I will officially have used 1/3 of the time on my UK visa (8 of 24 months), and while I do love Oxford, and have met some wonderful people here, it does sort of feel like I wouldn't be making the most of my time if I didn't travel and experience some more of the UK. So I'm thinking of investigating the capitals of the other countries in the UK: Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast. All are beautiful I am told, and would nice places to live. Now if this does happen, it probably wouldn't be until the end of summer...my friend Mark wants to do some travelling in August/September, so that would sort of be the ideal time to quit my jobs and move on (it would also mean I could sublet a room from a student for the summer and not be tied into a year long contract), but on the other hand it would probably mean that I'd be low on funds. So who knows, maybe I won't go anywhere at all...I'm definitely going to spend the summer in Oxford and then we'll see after that....

Home For a Rest

Well the weekend of doom is over, and I made it through relatively unscarred. I've also made a new friend! She is a bisexual Russian Jew who regularly lives in Chicago but is currently studying philosophy in Oxford! She got robbed last week and is moving in with her boyfriend who lives on a boat in the canal for the remainder of her time in the UK. Her and I have virtually nothing in common except for our sense of humour and place of employment, but nonetheless, she's pretty cool!

I would love to write more about the bizarreness of May Day and other such things, but I am far too exhausted. What I would like to record, however, is that one of the Spice Girls is currently performing in a club not 90 seconds from my room. What a sad and depressing concert that must be! You used to be internationally famous...now you're playing a gig in East Oxford...poor thing.

All right, one more shift tomorrow, then a couple days off...excellent.

Weekend of Doom!

Check out this schedule:
Thursday: Off (aaaahhhhhh!)
Friday: First shift at the Phoenix Picturehouse 6pm-1am (went well)
Saturday: Coffee Republic 7:30am-3:30pm, Second Shift at the Phoenix Picturehouse 6pm-1am
Sunday: May Day celebrations at 6am, Coffee Republic 11am - 8pm
Monday: Coffee Republic 8:30am - 4pm

Oy. So I'm about to have a power nap before heading back to the Phoenix. It's an easy job at least, and the people who work there seem pretty chilled as well. At least what I'm lacking in sleep I will be making up for in money...over the course of 3 days I will have earned the equivalent of $520 Canadian. Yowza.

Pearl Jam to Tour Canada in September!

Of course they do it once I've left the damn country! If I was back home I would seriously consider dropping a few hundred bucks and taking a week off to follow them from Thunder Bay to Quebec City (with stops in Kitchener, London, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal). It is unlikely I will have the chance to do so however. Boys back home (you know who you are!) do me proud!

And props to Pearl Jam for extensively touring Canada....most big bands only hit Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, but they're doing stops all across the country, and not dipping into the States in between - this is a purely Canadian tour. I'm sure the fans out west and out east will really appreciate it. Those fellas just keep giving me more reasons to hold them at the top as my #1, all-round, all-time favourite band.

The Death of Democracy

I just watched an extremely cynical but enlightening documentary on Channel 4 about the May 5th election coming up here in the UK. It was called "Why Politicians Can't Tell the Truth" and reported by Peter Oborne. His thesis (at least, as I understood it) was that the 3 major political parties (Conservatives, Labour, and Liberal-Democrats) have become an amporphous blob who pretty much all stand for the same things. Naturally, there are some subtle differences between them, but in terms of how the country will actually be run, their campaign policies are all basically identical. The reason for this, he postulates, is because they're all focussed on capturing the votes of 'swing voters' - middle-class brits who haven't yet made up their mind - because they're the ones who actually decide the election. Ideology and representation be damned, it all comes down to the bottom line; in this case, pleasing those folks with a mortgage and 2.5 kids.

And he makes a good point, it's an awful position to be in. They all say the same positive things (more cops on the street, more health care, less taxes) and refuse to tackle difficult issues (the example he used was how despite the fact that aviation is quickly becoming the #1 emitter of greenhouse gases, no one will oppose the expansion of Stansted airport and tax breaks for airlines so they can provide cheap airfare...again, because it would be unpopular with the middle class swing voters).

The program ended with him trying to track down Tony Blair on the campaign trail, seeing as no one at the labour office would tell the reporter where his next press conference was going to be held. Granted, he was a bit of a trouble-maker, and did ask some rather sassy questions, but what good is a democracy if you can't question authority? One of the very last segments of the program showed the police arresting a 16 year old girl for throwing ONE egg at Tony Blair's bus. Man, democracy really is dead.

Ok, so the question is then, what the hell do we do about it? It's all well and good to be depressed that the richest nations in the world are ruled by their richest members, and that we can't ask difficult questions or protest this situation, but how do we change it? I'd love to become an inspiring, motivational politician for 'my generation' but I really just don't see it happening. The problem is not the people in the system, but the system itself. Democratic Capitalism (or at least, today's mutant incarnation thereof) needs a serious assessment and overhaul. Thankfully there are already many people who are skeptical and questioning, but the problem again is that these aren't the folks with any power. The other half of the problem lies with the youth, many of whom feel like i do (powerless and frustrated) and so rather than worry about doing anything to make a positive change, become hedonistic, materialistic, apathetic and ultimately nihilistic. Their ethos is that since they can't change anything, they might as well make the most out of what they've got. And I understand where they're coming from, and to a certain extent I can't blame them, yet on the other hand, I refuse to be complacent about injustice on any level. Grrr...

So that's a lot of theoretical mumbo-jumbo, without much pro-active advice, but the fact is that I just don't know what to do yet. It comes back to the micro/macro divide. Should I devote my life to helping individuals I see on the streets, or seriously lobbying international bodies like the UN, WTO, IMF, etc. to make massive global differences. I think I tend to lean toward the former, if only because of my previously mentioned distrust in the current political structures of this planet.

I'm winding myself up here, I need to go for a walk and cool down.

Maybe I Should Be a Manager?

I didn't have a particularly bad day at work or anything, but a thought struck me as I was walking home: maybe I should become a manager! After all, I've had enough shitty managers to know what NOT to do, and actually one or two good ones along the way too. I like people, and I like investing in people. The only problem is that on paper I don't have any experience...and I wouldn't want to manage any sort of sales-driven team, as that would mean putting profits first and most likely having to suck up to corporate head office. Yuck. I would have to manage a team at an independently-owned location, or else a team not in the field of selling. Then again, maybe I should just become a minister like I've planned all along, since that's basically what I'd be doing...

How much does a day off cost?

About £40 actually.

All right, so I haven't posted in a while, and for those who actually missed it, I apologize. But I'm posting now to make up for it!

So I decided to call in sick to work this morning. My head is all clogged up and I can't figure out whether it's allergies, a sinus infection or a combination of the two. I probably was well enough to go into work, but we were insanely busy yesterday, and today I would have been closing with the manager (which is never fun) and frankly, I'd rather just not. I haven't been working there long enough to earn vacation pay yet however, so this means that I'll be lacking a days wages when it comes time to be paid. I may regret the decision when I see that pay cheque but at the moment, it seems like quite a good idea, if I do say so myself.

I went around to Tesco this morning and bought myself a fruit smoothie, tons of apple juice (well, 4 litres) some vitamins and anti-histamines, so hopefully I'll be rarin' to go today! I certainly have no intention of wasting today in bed, it's far too beautiful for that! I'll pump myself full of goodness, run some errands, and then go for a walk or something (being sure to avoid the city centre!)

In other news, for those who haven't heard, I got myself a job at the Phoenix Picturehouse! yay! Well, at least I have two trial shifts this Friday and Saturday (but I'm sure it'll all work out). I'm taking a pay cut (although it's only 15p/hour less, so if I work one extra hour per week, I've made up the difference) and it probably means it will be harder to co-ordinate multiple days off in which to travel, but on the upside, it means I won't be stuck in that other place for 40 hours each week! Plus now I get free movie tickets and video rentals...the perks just keep coming!

The Mildly Drunken Ramblings of a Sensitive Heart

This is the story:

Today was the second day of my 'weekend.' I decided to go visit Blenheim Palace in Woodstock (Winston Chuchill's homestead), just outside of Oxford. On getting off the bus, I met a group of American students from Minnesota (Minna-soda) and hung out with them for the day. They were all really nice, but one, Laura, was especially nice. We talked and laughed a lot through out the day and it made the trip much more pleasant than it would have been on my own.

We bussed it back home together and had dinner at the Royal Oak pub. They invited me to go dancing at the Purple Turtle that evening, so I figured why not! Shortly after I arrived, some British friends of Laura's arrived, and she proceeded to snub me for the rest of the evening. I really don't think it was intentional, but she was obviously more interested in the other guy then me. She said 3 sentences to me all evening (I counted them) and then danced with the other guy for the rest of the night.

I really shouldn't care, after all they're leaving for the States in another week, and I only spent a day with them. But still, it sucks. It's rare that I meet girls that I 'click' with like that. Anyhow, I think I'll listen to 'Second Best' by Pedro the Lion then go to sleep and get up for work for the rest of the week. Bah.

For Erin K. Pellow

Stop reading this and get back to doing whatever it is that you're supposed to be doing at the moment - no more procrastinating; you have a degree to finish! We can discuss this more when you get over here :P

Sincerely,
Christopher James Langston

Went for a pint with Rich and Alberto after work today. Rich gave me the professional advice to not bitch about my job and/or manager in a public forum (like, say, on the internet), so I'll leave it at that.

What I will say however, is that even though I have to be back at work in exactly 9 1/2 hours, i think I am going to go for a sunday night bike ride before I go to bed. After all, it's a clear night, and like 11 degrees out. Considering the fact that it was SNOWING two days ago (what is this, Canada?!) I think it will be worthwhile. I'll leave you with cryptic lyrics that have been running through my head today.

Pearl Jam - Present Tense

Do you see the way that tree bends? Does it inspire?
Leaning out to catch the sun's rays. A lesson to be applied.
Are you getting something out of this all encompassing trip?

You can spend your time alone redigesting past regrets, ohh, or you can come to terms and realize you're the only one who can forgive yourself. Oh.
Makes much more sense to live in the present tense.

Have you ideas on how this life ends?
Checked your hands and studied the lines.
Have you the belief that the road ahead ascends off into the light?
Seems that needlessly it's getting harder to find an approach and a way to live.
Are we getting something out of this all encompassing trip.

You can spend your time alone redigesting past regrets, ohh, or you can come to terms and realize you're the only one who cannot forgive yourself. Oh, ohh.
Makes more sense to live in the present tense.

Weekend Update with Norm Macdonald

I have Wednesdays and Thursdays off for the next 3 weeks, so they essentially have become my 'weekends' (which is pronounced over here as 'wee-kend', rather than 'week-end' as back home...)

Some random stuff:

• Oxford's weather has been bi-polar today...honestly, it seems like every 20 minutes it's either pouring rain or bright sunshine...I kid you not.
• Bought the new Lonely Planet: Europe on a Shoestring today, which listed the following website:
• www.couchsurfing.com - amazing! What a great idea, check it out! My profile can be found here
  
• hOME tonight
  

that's it for now, back to work tomorrow.

The Micro and the Macro

This is gonna be a long post, consider yourself forewarned.

I started my day at 6am when the alarm went off and talked to Matt on MSN just before I left for work (it was just hitting 1am back home). Worked from 7:30am-2:30pm at the soulless coffee shop. Came home, filled out and application for the indie movie theatre downtown and had a nap. Woke up, made some supper, and then decided to take a stroll down to the theatre to drop off my application stuff. On the way, a homeless man named Sam stopped me. He's a 'rough sleeper' who camps out in the same place every day (in front of the alcohol shop right before the roundabout, across the Magdalen Bridge for you Oxford folks). We ended up talking for a whole hour. Or more accurately, I ended up listening for the better part of an hour. Sam is a self-confessed alcoholic, and was clearly drunk, and yet lucid enough to carry on a conversation (I guess you have to be when you're an alcoholic). Sam just recently found God, and though Sam's theology is a bit suspect, I could tell it's changed his life. Despite still being an alcoholic who sleeps on the street, there was a sparkle in his eye that was more than just the booze. Incredible. Anyway, I ended up buying a meal for Sam and then said goodbye, but I imagine I'll stop and chat with him again, seeing as I walk past him every day on my way to work.

So, eventually I ended up at the theatre and dropped my application off. As I walked out the door, I saw that Hotel Rwanda was playing in 15 minutes, so on a whim I turned around and went back in to purchase a ticket. Wow...what an unbelievably incredible film. If you haven't seen it, GO SEE IT TONIGHT! I don't care whether you have an exam or board meeting, how far you have to go, or how much it costs: you need to see this film! And if you've already seen it, watch it again to remind yourself how powerful it is.

My first reaction was that I wanted to be a UN Peacekeeper, but then I realized that I'm not really into the whole gun/fitness thing. Then I thought about hopping on a plane to Darfur and helping out there, but I realized that would probably be a waste of the resources available to me. So what then? Politics? Possible, but I don't know if I could handle the bureaucracy and inherent bullshit involved. In my gut, I just want to grab a megaphone and yell at people to wake up and get off their lazy asses, but then, we all know that that's not really an effective motivator. So what then? I don't know, and that's the tricky part. One thing is certain though, I've been extremely selfish lately, in many different ways, and it needs to end. Serving overpriced coffee to rich Europeans is not the best way to use the gifts that God has given me. But like I said, I don't know what is... I'd like to get a Master's degree in Critical Theory, but maybe something like Humanitarian Development would be more practical? Or social work? That's part of the problem: how to change the world? On the micro level, like hanging out with Sam for an hour every day, or on the macro level, by lobbying influential people to stop things like genocide from ever happening in the first place. Again, I just don't know, but I'm determined to figure out. I will seek advice, and I think I'm going to be praying a lot more in the coming days and weeks. Man, do I loathe the Western lifestyle...it's so quietly manipulative...without even realizing it you're lulled into this existence of false values and false worries, when in actual fact there are many, many more horrible things going on across the world.

Before I finish this up, I want to mention some choice quotes from the film. At one part, an American journalist shoots some footage of the massacre, and the protagonist thanks him, but the American replies "People at home are going to see this on TV, say 'that's horrible' and then go back to eating their dinner." At another point, he's talking to a rich hotel manager in France who has asked the governments to intervene (mostly to save the hotel) but he says "The Americans, British and French don't care...Rwanda doesn't buy them votes." And then there's a great speech by a Canadian peacekeeper (the only country who did stick around...but even then there really weren't enough of us to do anything) about how he should be hated because he contributes to such awful, systematic (and systemic) racism.

Ugh, I could go on and on about this, but it's probably best that I leave it there for now. Go see that movie! Over and out.

Worst. Day. Ever.

What better way to beat the worst day of work ever than 4 pints of beer with your minister....awwww yeah.

Day 2 of 3

Grrr....blogger is on drugs and pissing me off. It seems to have deleted the post I just made, but the gist of it was this: Rich and I went to Warwick Castle today, here is the proof.




More shenanigans found here. Enjoy!

The Happiest Boy Alive

I do declare myself to be the happiest boy alive. Y'see, it's like this:

I have today, tomorrow and wednesday off, however I didn't find this out until Saturday. At first I was angry because if I had known further in advance, I could have planned a trip to Ireland or something. I still looked into it, however it was quite expensive and considering that I had just been in Belgium a week ago, I decided it was better to stick around here (Rich and I may still go exploring tomorrow and wednesday, we'll see). It worked out for the best anyway, for this morning I hopped on my bike and just rode for a good 2 1/2 hours. And let me tell ya, it was beautiful! The weather was perfect and the scenery was amazing! Spring is definitely my favourite season.

I had no idea that Oxford had such gorgeous paths along the Thames and its various canals and waterways. It was awesome to go just out of town and see the 13th, 14th and 15th century buildings still standing there. I loved it! Now, don't get me wrong, I love home too, but in checking the weather, it's currently -2 degrees celsius there and you sure aren't going to find any 500 year old buildings where I come from! So anyhow, I'm just home for a bite to eat and to share this wonderful news with you folks before I hop back onto my bike and go back downtown for a housewarming party. There's going to be an easter egg hunt in the meadow! This definitely means chocolate, and there's likely to be beer involved too. Today really couldn't get any better.

I'll try and find a map of where I cycled and put it up here later...

Only YOU have the power to Save Toby!

My new friend Rich told me about this site this morning.

I must admit, whoever is hosting that site is a genius, even if it's of the evil, maniacal kind. I don't recommend donating any money to the bastard, but I do think the site is worth checking out...hilarious and clever, if nothing else...

More school?

I realize that they're expensive, but these look absolutely delicious and I'd love to get one...

(or from here or here)

Not a good, but great friday!

What a wonderful day! It went like this:

Work from 8:30am-noon...paid time and a half of course, since it was what they call a 'bank holiday' over here (statutory holiday for folks back home). On my way home, I stopped and purchased a folding bike. I've been meaning to get a bicycle for a while, and after witnessing a guy taking his folding bike on the train to Belgium, I thought that was the way to go (much easier to move and store since I don't really have a fixed address). It was used and I got it for half price (and from a bike shop, so I'm fairly certain it wasn't stolen).

After that, I went to a Good Friday service put on by hOME. There was less than a dozen of us there, but it was extremely powerful and really got me thinking. Quite glad I attended. Then, from about 3pm to 9:30pm, Rich and I hung out at his place. It was a lovely day and his room has a great view of a meadow. He gave me supper and Belgian beer. He listened to me fret and complain and wonder and philosophize. He is good people. We finished by watching an episode of the Simpsons on Channel 4...it was the one where Homer starts a motorcycle gang and calls it "Hell's Satans" although Moe's suggestion ("Christ-Punchers") was much funnier and had me laughing during my whole walk home. Rich lent me a copy of the new Jack Johnson album (I didn't even know he had a new album out!) which I am currently listening to, while reading a great e-mail from Matt! I have to be at work early tomorrow morning (7:30!) but for now, I am a very happy Langston. Quite possibly the best, most upbeat good friday I've ever had...

Chocolates, beer and waffles, man those Belgians have their act together!

Well, I'm back from my quick jaunt to Belgium. I gotta say, my soul feels refreshed... I think I just need that jumpstart every now and again to keep me going. The weather in Brussels on Monday was gorgeous, so much so that I spent a couple of hours in a t-shirt in the park, drinking beer and eating chocolate (the way every monday should be spent!) but the real kicker was Bruges...man that's a gorgeous place! It rained in the afternoon, but I just sought refuge (and Belgian beer) in a little pub on the water, and it was perfect. The sun came back out just in time to set and I had a lovely walk around the city before catching the train back across the channel. I think I might have liked Bruges even more than Venice...maybe.

Speaking of which, I think I'd like to take part in a new hobby. I use that language specifically because I don't actually do this yet, and I'm pretty sure no one else does either, but here it is: urban canoeing! That's right, canoeing through world famous cities! But it's tricky because you have to find places where you can easily enter/exit the water as well as see lots of the city. Bruges and Venice are definitely on the list, but I don't think it would work in cities like London or Paris or New York or Montreal where the river is too big and really only has one path. I want options, and I want to be be able to tour the place from my canoe, so that's gotta be like moats and canals and stuff. Does anyone know of any other places in the world where this would work? Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments section. Also, if anyone would like to join in my urban canoeing adventures, let me know and I'll sign you up! I need at least one more anyway.

I took lots of pictures, but I'm afraid I won't be able to post them until I get my laptop back, whenever that may be. Actually, I could probably have them put on CD...or just use someone else's computer. We'll see. At any rate, have a somber Good Friday, a joyful Easter Sunday and a relaxing Easter Monday. I'll be working all of those days, but dreaming of Bruges. God bless all.