So, I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite British words.
Shattered - means very, very tired. I think it's a particularly descriptive term!
Skint - meaning broke, no money, flat busted, no dough, etc. As in, "I can't afford to go out tonight, I'm skint".
Wodge - one of my all time favourites. It means a very large amount. As in, "It takes a wodge of cash to buy property in London." Rhymes with lodge.
Brilliant - probably overuse this one myself. Meaning excellent, good, great, etc. I use it when I'm happy about something, as in if someone actually delivers something when they say they will, I say, "That's brilliant, thanks!"
Cheers - actually means thanks, as well as something you say when you clink glasses. So, using the above example, I would say, "That's brilliant, cheers!".
Oh yes, and this always makes me laugh - at the bank you don't make a deposit, you "pay in" using the "paying in slips"! lol You do, however, withdraw cash. Along the same lines, they don't have exits, they have "way out".
So, there you have it! Some of my favourite sayings.
It's currently 8:43 here and I just got home from work about half an hour ago. Been working long hours - hope that stops soon. Of course, not that there's much else to do! Decided not to go to Brighton this weekend as it's supposed to be cold and rainy. Probably try to take in more of the museum or something like that.
Anyway, gotta run - eat some supper and head to bed.
cya!
22 February 2006
18 February 2006
Chicago!
I received tickets from some colleagues in Calgary to attend the musical, Chicago, in the West End. My first London show!!
I went with Carole, the woman that pre-viewed my flat for me. I took her to thank her for doing that, as it was quite a bit out of her way. Anyway, we had a fantastic time! We met at the theatre (it was raining!) and walked down the street to the Scotch Steak House. It's not particularly fancy, but it was good. Being from Calgary, I was skeptical as to the quality of the steak, but I was pleasantly surprised. The flavour was nice and it was cooked properly and fairly tender. They serve the New York Strip with egg and bacon on top. I didn't grasp that concept, but I'm sure Dr. Atkins would have approved!! And the only accompaniment with it was some shredded cabbage and lettuce (we had to ask for salad dressing) and chips (fries). If you wanted your potato a different way, you had to pay for a separate potato, and if you wanted veggies instead of salad, you had to order them separately as well! It was all good, though, and we had a nice pinot noir with it.
Chicago was brilliant! The singing and dancing was superb and I loved it! The seats were nosebleed, but they had little binoculars you could rent at the seats! You put in a 50p coin and they were yours for the evening. Actually, you probably could have taken them home, but they really weren't worth it! Anyway, the stage musical was better than the movie, and there was more to it - they cut some of the best bits out of the movie. I really don't think Chicago the movie should have gotten as many Oscars as it did. It was ok, but not fantastic. Carole has a daughter who is a actress/singer/dancer. She's currently doing the travelling version of Les Miserables. Carole likes going to shows and whatnot, so we're going to try to go at least once every couple of months. She is also planning a girls weekend in Edinburgh to see her daughter perform there and invited me along, so I'll probably be doing that in April.
On my way to the theatre, I stumbled across the Canadian High Commission building - it's right on Trafalgar Square. So, I think I'll pop in there one of these days and register. It's always a good idea to let your embassy know you're living in the country.
Tomorrow I'm off to the spa. Gentry gave me a half-day spa package at a local spa here in Chiswick called Jurlique. I'm really looking forward to it. It a massage, facial, hydrotherapy and some other stuff. Nice and relaxing.
It's midnight, and I'm trying to stay up to watch the lacrosse game at 2:30 am. Calgary plays Arizona at 7:30 pm MST, which is, of course, 2:30 my time. The game is webcast, so I'm hoping to watch it. I meant to watch the one last night against Edmonton, but when my alarm rang at 2:15 am, I talked myself out of it!! lol
Anyway, I'm off to have a cuppa and watch some TV.
Cheers!
I went with Carole, the woman that pre-viewed my flat for me. I took her to thank her for doing that, as it was quite a bit out of her way. Anyway, we had a fantastic time! We met at the theatre (it was raining!) and walked down the street to the Scotch Steak House. It's not particularly fancy, but it was good. Being from Calgary, I was skeptical as to the quality of the steak, but I was pleasantly surprised. The flavour was nice and it was cooked properly and fairly tender. They serve the New York Strip with egg and bacon on top. I didn't grasp that concept, but I'm sure Dr. Atkins would have approved!! And the only accompaniment with it was some shredded cabbage and lettuce (we had to ask for salad dressing) and chips (fries). If you wanted your potato a different way, you had to pay for a separate potato, and if you wanted veggies instead of salad, you had to order them separately as well! It was all good, though, and we had a nice pinot noir with it.
Chicago was brilliant! The singing and dancing was superb and I loved it! The seats were nosebleed, but they had little binoculars you could rent at the seats! You put in a 50p coin and they were yours for the evening. Actually, you probably could have taken them home, but they really weren't worth it! Anyway, the stage musical was better than the movie, and there was more to it - they cut some of the best bits out of the movie. I really don't think Chicago the movie should have gotten as many Oscars as it did. It was ok, but not fantastic. Carole has a daughter who is a actress/singer/dancer. She's currently doing the travelling version of Les Miserables. Carole likes going to shows and whatnot, so we're going to try to go at least once every couple of months. She is also planning a girls weekend in Edinburgh to see her daughter perform there and invited me along, so I'll probably be doing that in April.
On my way to the theatre, I stumbled across the Canadian High Commission building - it's right on Trafalgar Square. So, I think I'll pop in there one of these days and register. It's always a good idea to let your embassy know you're living in the country.
Tomorrow I'm off to the spa. Gentry gave me a half-day spa package at a local spa here in Chiswick called Jurlique. I'm really looking forward to it. It a massage, facial, hydrotherapy and some other stuff. Nice and relaxing.
It's midnight, and I'm trying to stay up to watch the lacrosse game at 2:30 am. Calgary plays Arizona at 7:30 pm MST, which is, of course, 2:30 my time. The game is webcast, so I'm hoping to watch it. I meant to watch the one last night against Edmonton, but when my alarm rang at 2:15 am, I talked myself out of it!! lol
Anyway, I'm off to have a cuppa and watch some TV.
Cheers!
17 February 2006
Cuppa tea?
So, today I'm going to talk about tea. Everything you've heard is true, and it's the nicest tradition!
Brits drink a lot of tea. They drink coffee as well, but usually that's sort of first thing in the morning, and after that it's tea. Tea is always served with milk, but sugar is optional. If you drink it without milk, you had better tell the person making it, because they will default to adding milk!
In an office, you always ask everyone else if they want tea when you are going to make some for yourself. It's rude not to. And, if there are enough people, then you make a pot. The beauty thing is that because the power voltage here is higher (220 as opposed to 110), the kettle heats up much faster and the water boils faster. The tea should also be very strong, so you would put one tea bag per person in the pot. I, personally, take mine white with 2 sugars, as does young Will (I call him that sometimes, but he's only a bit younger than me).
I bet I have 3-4 cups of tea a day, at least. Sometimes more, and sometimes a cup of coffee besides. Tea is my favourite drink, though, especially prepared this way.
Philosophically, I think it's so nice that you make tea for everyone. In Canada, when you go to get your coffee or tea from the kitchen, you just get yours - you don't really think about anyone else. Even when I was in a small office, we didn't do that. And it's so nice when someone makes and brings tea to you, as well!
The other interesting thing about tea is that people always seem to have time for tea. When Ron (IT) brought my printer for my home office to my flat, I was going to just take it from him at the bottom of the stairs so he didn't have to carry it up. But, as we were standing at the bottom of the stairs, I suddenly realized that it would be rude not to ask him in for a cup of tea. Which he accepted, brought the printer up and set it up. And we had a great little chat over tea when he was finished!
Another experience I had when I came over in November last year for my recon trip, was when Kevin brought me down from his lovely farm north of London, where I had spent the evening with him and his family on a real, English farm. He drove me down to Chiswick to stay with Jane Stevenson, who had invited me to stay the night and attend a concert by her choral group singing The Messiah. We found the house, and Jane wasn't there, but her husband, Bernard, was. Neither Kevin nor I had met Bernard before, and we appeared on the doorstep with my suitcase (Bernard was expecting me, however). Anyway, Bernard invited Kevin in for tea. I expected Kevin to decline, since he was only dropping me off and didn't even know Bernard. But, he surprised me by accepting, coming in and we all stood in the kitchen and had a quick cup of tea and a chat.
The thing I've learned from all of this - the Brits very rarely refuse a cup of tea, so keep that in mind when you're only being polite!!!
Brits drink a lot of tea. They drink coffee as well, but usually that's sort of first thing in the morning, and after that it's tea. Tea is always served with milk, but sugar is optional. If you drink it without milk, you had better tell the person making it, because they will default to adding milk!
In an office, you always ask everyone else if they want tea when you are going to make some for yourself. It's rude not to. And, if there are enough people, then you make a pot. The beauty thing is that because the power voltage here is higher (220 as opposed to 110), the kettle heats up much faster and the water boils faster. The tea should also be very strong, so you would put one tea bag per person in the pot. I, personally, take mine white with 2 sugars, as does young Will (I call him that sometimes, but he's only a bit younger than me).
I bet I have 3-4 cups of tea a day, at least. Sometimes more, and sometimes a cup of coffee besides. Tea is my favourite drink, though, especially prepared this way.
Philosophically, I think it's so nice that you make tea for everyone. In Canada, when you go to get your coffee or tea from the kitchen, you just get yours - you don't really think about anyone else. Even when I was in a small office, we didn't do that. And it's so nice when someone makes and brings tea to you, as well!
The other interesting thing about tea is that people always seem to have time for tea. When Ron (IT) brought my printer for my home office to my flat, I was going to just take it from him at the bottom of the stairs so he didn't have to carry it up. But, as we were standing at the bottom of the stairs, I suddenly realized that it would be rude not to ask him in for a cup of tea. Which he accepted, brought the printer up and set it up. And we had a great little chat over tea when he was finished!
Another experience I had when I came over in November last year for my recon trip, was when Kevin brought me down from his lovely farm north of London, where I had spent the evening with him and his family on a real, English farm. He drove me down to Chiswick to stay with Jane Stevenson, who had invited me to stay the night and attend a concert by her choral group singing The Messiah. We found the house, and Jane wasn't there, but her husband, Bernard, was. Neither Kevin nor I had met Bernard before, and we appeared on the doorstep with my suitcase (Bernard was expecting me, however). Anyway, Bernard invited Kevin in for tea. I expected Kevin to decline, since he was only dropping me off and didn't even know Bernard. But, he surprised me by accepting, coming in and we all stood in the kitchen and had a quick cup of tea and a chat.
The thing I've learned from all of this - the Brits very rarely refuse a cup of tea, so keep that in mind when you're only being polite!!!
14 February 2006
Municipal waste - in more ways than one!
Ok, I have to quickly post this because I think it is hilarious!
So, our office is in the City of Westminister, for the purposes of municipal garbage collection, utilities, etc. Being that there are no back alleys, you have to put your garbage out on the front sidewalk for collection. They, of course, charge us to pick up the garbage. So far so good. Here's where it gets silly.
A while ago, the City came in with this new policy that you have to use specific City of Westminister garbage bags. Which we have to buy from the City, in addition to paying for garbage collection. Cardboard has to be flattened and tied with City of Westminister tape, which also has to be purchased from the City!! So we get charged twice to have our garbage collected! So then I asked the question - what if we just use normal bags - how do they know who put it out there? Yes, you guessed it - they have inspectors who rummage through unofficial garbage bags, find out who's it is, and fine you!!! It's an absolute hoot!!
Oh yeah, and to get the bags and tape, you have to phone the City, they mail (yes, apparently they haven't figured out email yet!) you out an order form, you have to fill it out and mail it back with a cheque, and then they send you the bags!!! So, we're sitting here in the office on all sorts of garbage from new office supplies, computer equipment, etc., and we can't do anything until our official garbage bags arrive!!!
In addition, you have to put the garbage out at 5:00 pm. Not one minute earlier, or they will fine you as well!!! This whole things just slays me!!! It doesn't get much more ridiculous that this!
This is my amusement!! I'm trying to impress my new employers as well as not having a life here anyway yet, so I'm working many hours a way (nothing better to do) and small things like ridiculous beaurocracy and pigeons landing on the balcony outside my window bring a smile to my face!! Life is good!!
Cheers!
So, our office is in the City of Westminister, for the purposes of municipal garbage collection, utilities, etc. Being that there are no back alleys, you have to put your garbage out on the front sidewalk for collection. They, of course, charge us to pick up the garbage. So far so good. Here's where it gets silly.
A while ago, the City came in with this new policy that you have to use specific City of Westminister garbage bags. Which we have to buy from the City, in addition to paying for garbage collection. Cardboard has to be flattened and tied with City of Westminister tape, which also has to be purchased from the City!! So we get charged twice to have our garbage collected! So then I asked the question - what if we just use normal bags - how do they know who put it out there? Yes, you guessed it - they have inspectors who rummage through unofficial garbage bags, find out who's it is, and fine you!!! It's an absolute hoot!!
Oh yeah, and to get the bags and tape, you have to phone the City, they mail (yes, apparently they haven't figured out email yet!) you out an order form, you have to fill it out and mail it back with a cheque, and then they send you the bags!!! So, we're sitting here in the office on all sorts of garbage from new office supplies, computer equipment, etc., and we can't do anything until our official garbage bags arrive!!!
In addition, you have to put the garbage out at 5:00 pm. Not one minute earlier, or they will fine you as well!!! This whole things just slays me!!! It doesn't get much more ridiculous that this!
This is my amusement!! I'm trying to impress my new employers as well as not having a life here anyway yet, so I'm working many hours a way (nothing better to do) and small things like ridiculous beaurocracy and pigeons landing on the balcony outside my window bring a smile to my face!! Life is good!!
Cheers!
12 February 2006
I can't believe I'm looking forward to routine...
...it's true! Me, the girl who hates routine! But I think it will help me get more settled.
So, here are the pictures of my flat that I promised. I was having trouble putting them in the blog, so I just created some photo albums.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Flat%20in%20Chiswick
The office is coming along. I went in to work on Saturday morning for a while. They were putting the server in. Pictures of the office are here.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Office%20on%20Dover%20Street
Since I'm going to be talking about the guys I'm working with, I should give you a breif glossary on who's who.
Kevin Watts - President & C.E.O.
Mark Bilsland - Chief Financial Officer
TomMackay - Vice-President, Technical
Will Nott - Kevin's research assistant
Jon Ford - Exploration Manager
Ron Winwood - IT Guy
We will be hiring a couple more people in the next few months as well.
Another person that I will be talking about is Jane Stevenson. She is the Personal Assistant to Sir Graham Hearne, our Chairman, and a good friend who lives in my neighbourhood. She has been helping me with stuff and making sure I'm ok. She's been brilliant and I'm so glad I have her here.
I went to the British Museum yesterday. What a gem!! It's completely free and there are amazing things there! I saw the Rosetta Stone, which was the key to cracking the Egyptian heiroglyphics. It was so cool to see a piece of history like that. And there were the Eglin Marbles, which are pieces of the Parthenon. It was very, very cool. I only managed to get to see about a quarter of it, so I plan to make many trips back. Pcitures are here.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/British%20Museum
One thing I've noticed is that everyone here is very much an individual. People wear anything and act any way and no one really notices. In Calgary, people notice someone looking different. Here they just blend in with everyone else that looks different. In a way, it's very freeing, but in another way it's sad that it is so hard to be noticed.
So I cleaned up my flat today. It's so small it only took a couple of hours. One nice thing about a small flat!
It's raining and cold today, so I'm staying in and watching movies. Ciao for naio!!
So, here are the pictures of my flat that I promised. I was having trouble putting them in the blog, so I just created some photo albums.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Flat%20in%20Chiswick
The office is coming along. I went in to work on Saturday morning for a while. They were putting the server in. Pictures of the office are here.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Office%20on%20Dover%20Street
Since I'm going to be talking about the guys I'm working with, I should give you a breif glossary on who's who.
Kevin Watts - President & C.E.O.
Mark Bilsland - Chief Financial Officer
TomMackay - Vice-President, Technical
Will Nott - Kevin's research assistant
Jon Ford - Exploration Manager
Ron Winwood - IT Guy
We will be hiring a couple more people in the next few months as well.
Another person that I will be talking about is Jane Stevenson. She is the Personal Assistant to Sir Graham Hearne, our Chairman, and a good friend who lives in my neighbourhood. She has been helping me with stuff and making sure I'm ok. She's been brilliant and I'm so glad I have her here.
I went to the British Museum yesterday. What a gem!! It's completely free and there are amazing things there! I saw the Rosetta Stone, which was the key to cracking the Egyptian heiroglyphics. It was so cool to see a piece of history like that. And there were the Eglin Marbles, which are pieces of the Parthenon. It was very, very cool. I only managed to get to see about a quarter of it, so I plan to make many trips back. Pcitures are here.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/British%20Museum
One thing I've noticed is that everyone here is very much an individual. People wear anything and act any way and no one really notices. In Calgary, people notice someone looking different. Here they just blend in with everyone else that looks different. In a way, it's very freeing, but in another way it's sad that it is so hard to be noticed.
So I cleaned up my flat today. It's so small it only took a couple of hours. One nice thing about a small flat!
It's raining and cold today, so I'm staying in and watching movies. Ciao for naio!!
07 February 2006
Finally
Well, here I am!! Sorry it took so long to post - things move at their own schedule here and it's been hard to get online for any length of time.
I arrived on Friday morning, February 3. My new boss, Mark Bilsland, picked me up at the airport and brought me into Chiswick. After stopping off at the estate agent whom I let (rented) the place through to pick up the keys, we went to the flat. Seven pieces of luggage (two of them a full 70 lbs and the rest not much lighter) were hauled up the 9 flights of stairs (4 and a half floors) to the top floor. The first floor is one flight down.
The flat is small, very small. It has a great view, being on the fifth floor and all. Also feel much safer up here. However, the tube runs a few blocks away and can be quite noisy. It's just a matter of getting used to it - I don't notice it much any more. I lived right beside the railroad in college, and it only took a week to get used to that!
As I said, I'm only a couple of blocks away from the tube, which takes me within a block of the office downtown. Well, I do have to change trains, but that's just a matter of walking across the platform, so it's not a big deal. I can get downtown in 20-30 minutes easily.
So I went downtown to the office on the Friday afternoon to check it out and meet up with my other new boss, Kevin Watts. The office is currently a big empty room, but the furniture should be in tomorrow (Wednesday), as should the broadband (ADSL). Phones, however, don't go in until the 13th. Crazy, I know!! BT is so efficient! Kevin and I then went down to Tottingham (pronounced "Tot'n'm") Court Road, which is the big electronics area of London, and got me a laptop. It's a Sony Vaio TX1XP/B for all my techono-geek friends. Translated, it means that it's small and fast!! I'm loving it!!
So I spent the weekend getting settled in, picking up bits and pieces that I need, etc. Monday morning my friend, Jane Stevenson, took me to Ikea and I picked up a small desk and nightable, and some other bits and bobs (common Brit term). Nothing in the office yet, so there was no point in going in.
Today I did a bit of work - got some stuff printed for our VP Technical for a meeting he has tomorrow and made some calls to get some info on a corporate cell phone account. It seems everyone has to call me back and none of them did today. Where are all these people??!!
So, the day I was leaving, I decided to get all my papers together and wouldn't you know it - I couldn't find my passport! Still don't know where it is. I looked everywhere and it simply was gone! So, I ended up having to go and get another on on a rush basis. They managed it in an hour (funny how it takes two weeks normally!!). So I made it on the plane, but still have to sort out getting a new visa. What a panic!! Of course that meant that I left everything else in a mess there! So, I have to get my replacement, Connie, to send over some stuff for me that I left in the office and I left a ton of stuff for my property manager and friend, Pat, to do. Sorry guys!!
So, homesickness is starting to rear it's head. My phone was finally working today, so I phoned Mike (the guy I talked about in my last post) and we talked for a bit. And I talked to mom and dad a little later. So, now I want to be home and see all of them. And I miss my friends - I am definitely a stranger in a strange land. And it's tough to find a land stranger than me!! lmao!
So, I'm going to try to post a couple of photos I took out of my windows. I don't have the place in shape enough to do inside pics yet, but at least you can see what I see!
I will definitely try to write more now that I'm a bit more settled. Later, gator!
I arrived on Friday morning, February 3. My new boss, Mark Bilsland, picked me up at the airport and brought me into Chiswick. After stopping off at the estate agent whom I let (rented) the place through to pick up the keys, we went to the flat. Seven pieces of luggage (two of them a full 70 lbs and the rest not much lighter) were hauled up the 9 flights of stairs (4 and a half floors) to the top floor. The first floor is one flight down.
The flat is small, very small. It has a great view, being on the fifth floor and all. Also feel much safer up here. However, the tube runs a few blocks away and can be quite noisy. It's just a matter of getting used to it - I don't notice it much any more. I lived right beside the railroad in college, and it only took a week to get used to that!
As I said, I'm only a couple of blocks away from the tube, which takes me within a block of the office downtown. Well, I do have to change trains, but that's just a matter of walking across the platform, so it's not a big deal. I can get downtown in 20-30 minutes easily.
So I went downtown to the office on the Friday afternoon to check it out and meet up with my other new boss, Kevin Watts. The office is currently a big empty room, but the furniture should be in tomorrow (Wednesday), as should the broadband (ADSL). Phones, however, don't go in until the 13th. Crazy, I know!! BT is so efficient! Kevin and I then went down to Tottingham (pronounced "Tot'n'm") Court Road, which is the big electronics area of London, and got me a laptop. It's a Sony Vaio TX1XP/B for all my techono-geek friends. Translated, it means that it's small and fast!! I'm loving it!!
So I spent the weekend getting settled in, picking up bits and pieces that I need, etc. Monday morning my friend, Jane Stevenson, took me to Ikea and I picked up a small desk and nightable, and some other bits and bobs (common Brit term). Nothing in the office yet, so there was no point in going in.
Today I did a bit of work - got some stuff printed for our VP Technical for a meeting he has tomorrow and made some calls to get some info on a corporate cell phone account. It seems everyone has to call me back and none of them did today. Where are all these people??!!
So, the day I was leaving, I decided to get all my papers together and wouldn't you know it - I couldn't find my passport! Still don't know where it is. I looked everywhere and it simply was gone! So, I ended up having to go and get another on on a rush basis. They managed it in an hour (funny how it takes two weeks normally!!). So I made it on the plane, but still have to sort out getting a new visa. What a panic!! Of course that meant that I left everything else in a mess there! So, I have to get my replacement, Connie, to send over some stuff for me that I left in the office and I left a ton of stuff for my property manager and friend, Pat, to do. Sorry guys!!
So, homesickness is starting to rear it's head. My phone was finally working today, so I phoned Mike (the guy I talked about in my last post) and we talked for a bit. And I talked to mom and dad a little later. So, now I want to be home and see all of them. And I miss my friends - I am definitely a stranger in a strange land. And it's tough to find a land stranger than me!! lmao!
So, I'm going to try to post a couple of photos I took out of my windows. I don't have the place in shape enough to do inside pics yet, but at least you can see what I see!
I will definitely try to write more now that I'm a bit more settled. Later, gator!
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