So, I've been told by someone that I need to post more often. And as you all know, I ALWAYS do as I'm told! So...
The week is going well, but busy. I have a lot to get done before I leave on Thursday morning for Canada. Besides getting the office sorted out and showing Will how to do everything, I need to get myself sorted out and packed and some gifts purchased.
Lately I've been having these strange dreams that I'm getting ready to move to London, or I was planning to move to London and then things changed and I wasn't going after all. And then I wake up, and I'm in London!! It's very surreal!
My office is just down the street from Picadilly Circus, so one night after work, I decided to take a walk down there. What a circus - it was nuts. I decided if any of you come and visit and you want to go there, you're on your own! I don't need to go there again. Sorry!
I'm also only a block from Green Park, which is the park that Buckingham Palace is on the edge of, as well as Clarence house, the former residence of the late Queen Mum, and St. James Palace. The park is very nice and I like walking through it when I have time and the weather is decent.
The crocuses were out in the park - I love crocuses. They herald the advent of spring, and mom and I always tell each other when we see the first crocuses of the year. These were domestic and very different than the ones on the hillside in Linden, but beautiful none the less. They are planted randomly in the grass throughout the park.
On the weekend, there were a ton of tourists, and it felt special that I actually lived there. It's an interesting feeling to live in such a huge tourist destination. I felt a little sorry for the tourists, just like a sometimes feel sorry for myself as a tourist. When you are visiting somewhere, you have limited time to see everything and you want to drink it all in so you can remember it later. As a resident, I feel almost proprietary. I can go down there anytime I want and enjoy the beauty of the park, or the palace or shop on Oxford Street or go to Covent Garden, etc. I'm having fun living here! But Alberta is my home, and always will be.
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone out in Alberta!
14 March 2006
11 March 2006
Saturday again!
I can't believe it's been a whole week since my last post! It seems like it was just a few days ago! It's been busy and eventful!
So, my last Saturday was great! I walked down Chiswick High Road and found a adorable little antique book shop. If you know me well, you know how I adore books and have a modest antique book collection. Well, I was in heaven in this shop! I could have spent hours and hours in there, just breathing in the smell of old books. They had these amazing old leatherbound copies of classics like Dickens' "The Pickwick Papers", and beautiful old Books of Common Prayer. Also lots of framed illustrations from old books on the area, old land deeds (from early 1800s!). It was incredible! I was glad I got out of there without spending too much money!
I then walked down to the river Thames. The road along the Thames is called Chiswick Mall (pronounced "Chizzik Mal"), and it is a quaint road, with lot of houses with names, and a sidewalk made of flat rocks sort of like slate. There were also numerous notices that the road and environs have a tendency to flood, so park your car at your own risk! There's a bit of a drought here right now, so there was no danger of that. The river was very low. On the river side of the road, there are a bunch of yards without houses - this is where the houseboats usually are. Because the river is so low, the boats have left so they don't get grounded. I don't know where they've gone! So there are all these cool little yards with fences and statuary and everything! Click on the link for pictures of my stroll through Chiswick and by the River.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Chiswick
So after that, I was quite tired. Stopped at a little pub down by the river for a half-pint. Actually, by the river is a brewery. In England, there are two major breweries, and they own most of the pubs. So all you can buy at those pubs, apart from a few imports, are that brewery's beer. The one down in Chiswick by the river is Fuller's, which is the same brewery that owns The Old Packhorse, which is right by my flat. The picture is at the above link.
Anyway, came back, got some groceries and went home. Rested for a while and then went off to Jane's place for supper. It was lovely, as always. Jane is a fantastic cook and her and Bernard are lots of fun to be around.
Sunday I was very lazy - got up late, hung around watching tv, and finally got my act together and headed down to Covent Garden. A very cool place! There is this great market with stalls and shops, lots of unique stuff. There are street entertainers all over the place and great little cafes. I'm looking forward to taking visitors there!
Covent Garden, besides being known for it's market, is also know for being in the theatre district and having great restaurants and pubs. So it's a very interesting, vibrant place. I would love to live there, but it's expensive. In Covent Garden is the Maple Leaf Pub. Yes, the one and only Canadian pub/restaurant in the whole city! Great wings and real Canadian beer! I went there to hear some familiar accents and had a good time. I discovered that on Sunday nights they show the taped Hockey Night in Canada from Saturday night in Canada, so I stayed for that - met some people It was all good!
The week has been busy. We're getting ready for meetings in Calgary (yes, I'll be back in Calgary for about 10 days in less than a week) and working on the annual report. It's been busy and long days. But I'm really enjoying the challenge and the work! I will be in Canada from the 16th to the 25th of March with work and cleaning up some loose ends, and getting my visa replaced after the fiasco of having to get a new passport!
Today I walked though the park on my way into the office (yes, I'm working today) and it was so nice. The spring bulb flowers are just starting to bloom and there were crocuses all over the place. Lots of ducks and geese and swans on the river. What a beautiful and interesting place I live in!!
So, my last Saturday was great! I walked down Chiswick High Road and found a adorable little antique book shop. If you know me well, you know how I adore books and have a modest antique book collection. Well, I was in heaven in this shop! I could have spent hours and hours in there, just breathing in the smell of old books. They had these amazing old leatherbound copies of classics like Dickens' "The Pickwick Papers", and beautiful old Books of Common Prayer. Also lots of framed illustrations from old books on the area, old land deeds (from early 1800s!). It was incredible! I was glad I got out of there without spending too much money!
I then walked down to the river Thames. The road along the Thames is called Chiswick Mall (pronounced "Chizzik Mal"), and it is a quaint road, with lot of houses with names, and a sidewalk made of flat rocks sort of like slate. There were also numerous notices that the road and environs have a tendency to flood, so park your car at your own risk! There's a bit of a drought here right now, so there was no danger of that. The river was very low. On the river side of the road, there are a bunch of yards without houses - this is where the houseboats usually are. Because the river is so low, the boats have left so they don't get grounded. I don't know where they've gone! So there are all these cool little yards with fences and statuary and everything! Click on the link for pictures of my stroll through Chiswick and by the River.
http://www.chrisinchiswick.zoomshare.com/1.shtml/Chiswick
So after that, I was quite tired. Stopped at a little pub down by the river for a half-pint. Actually, by the river is a brewery. In England, there are two major breweries, and they own most of the pubs. So all you can buy at those pubs, apart from a few imports, are that brewery's beer. The one down in Chiswick by the river is Fuller's, which is the same brewery that owns The Old Packhorse, which is right by my flat. The picture is at the above link.
Anyway, came back, got some groceries and went home. Rested for a while and then went off to Jane's place for supper. It was lovely, as always. Jane is a fantastic cook and her and Bernard are lots of fun to be around.
Sunday I was very lazy - got up late, hung around watching tv, and finally got my act together and headed down to Covent Garden. A very cool place! There is this great market with stalls and shops, lots of unique stuff. There are street entertainers all over the place and great little cafes. I'm looking forward to taking visitors there!
Covent Garden, besides being known for it's market, is also know for being in the theatre district and having great restaurants and pubs. So it's a very interesting, vibrant place. I would love to live there, but it's expensive. In Covent Garden is the Maple Leaf Pub. Yes, the one and only Canadian pub/restaurant in the whole city! Great wings and real Canadian beer! I went there to hear some familiar accents and had a good time. I discovered that on Sunday nights they show the taped Hockey Night in Canada from Saturday night in Canada, so I stayed for that - met some people It was all good!
The week has been busy. We're getting ready for meetings in Calgary (yes, I'll be back in Calgary for about 10 days in less than a week) and working on the annual report. It's been busy and long days. But I'm really enjoying the challenge and the work! I will be in Canada from the 16th to the 25th of March with work and cleaning up some loose ends, and getting my visa replaced after the fiasco of having to get a new passport!
Today I walked though the park on my way into the office (yes, I'm working today) and it was so nice. The spring bulb flowers are just starting to bloom and there were crocuses all over the place. Lots of ducks and geese and swans on the river. What a beautiful and interesting place I live in!!
04 March 2006
Saturday morning
I woke up this morning to silence. Beautiful silence. You might wonder why this morning? Well, there were no trains going "ka-chunk, ka-chunk, ka-chunk" over the gap in the tracks! They are re-engineering the tracks this weekend, so there are no trains running all weekend. I lay in bed relishing the silence for a while, but decided it was time to get my weekend started.
Despite the advantage of the silence, this also means that I have to take the bus if I want to go anywhere! The buses run quite frequently down Chiswick High Street, which is just a block away from my flat (the blocks here are smaller than the blocks in Canad!). Plus, they have buses running to take the place of the train, so it shouldn't be too hard to get around.
Where do I want to go, you might ask? Well, tomorrow I'm off to Covent Garden. It's an area (not an actual garden) that traditionally was a market area and now had some great eclectic shops and lots of great pubs and restaurants. There is a Canadian pub there called the Maple Leaf, which is supposed to be pretty good. At the very least, I can order beer that I recognize! St. Paul's Cathedral is there as well, which mom said is absolutely stunning, so I'm really looking forward to that.
Today, I'm going to finish off a bit of work and then head down to the river (yes, the Thames), which is walking distance from my flat and forms the south boundary of Chiswick. Jane has invited me for supper tonight, and she's a fantastic cook, it will be a nice ending to the day.
A bit of local history - Chiswick is famous as the home of a fairly well-known artist named Hogarth. His house is a tourist attraction and there is a statue of him on the High Street. I may go to see his house today as well.
Another interesting term used here is High Street. In London, the shopping or main street of each area is called the High Street or High Road, so you have Chiswick High Street, Kensington High Street, etc. They use the term as part of the vernacular referring to any retail. For instance, in advertising, they will say that you can get whatever they are advertising on the High Street. I can't really think of a Canadian alternative term.
Anyway, time to get my day started! The sun is shining and London is calling!
Cheers!
Despite the advantage of the silence, this also means that I have to take the bus if I want to go anywhere! The buses run quite frequently down Chiswick High Street, which is just a block away from my flat (the blocks here are smaller than the blocks in Canad!). Plus, they have buses running to take the place of the train, so it shouldn't be too hard to get around.
Where do I want to go, you might ask? Well, tomorrow I'm off to Covent Garden. It's an area (not an actual garden) that traditionally was a market area and now had some great eclectic shops and lots of great pubs and restaurants. There is a Canadian pub there called the Maple Leaf, which is supposed to be pretty good. At the very least, I can order beer that I recognize! St. Paul's Cathedral is there as well, which mom said is absolutely stunning, so I'm really looking forward to that.
Today, I'm going to finish off a bit of work and then head down to the river (yes, the Thames), which is walking distance from my flat and forms the south boundary of Chiswick. Jane has invited me for supper tonight, and she's a fantastic cook, it will be a nice ending to the day.
A bit of local history - Chiswick is famous as the home of a fairly well-known artist named Hogarth. His house is a tourist attraction and there is a statue of him on the High Street. I may go to see his house today as well.
Another interesting term used here is High Street. In London, the shopping or main street of each area is called the High Street or High Road, so you have Chiswick High Street, Kensington High Street, etc. They use the term as part of the vernacular referring to any retail. For instance, in advertising, they will say that you can get whatever they are advertising on the High Street. I can't really think of a Canadian alternative term.
Anyway, time to get my day started! The sun is shining and London is calling!
Cheers!
22 February 2006
Some of my favourite words
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!
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!
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!!
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