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.