Occasional Notes

HI CANADA! I'M HOME!

Well, in Toronto, at least. My mother conveniently has meetings here today and so was able to come pick me up from my plane, which landed at 12:30 last night. I didn't clear customs and get out with my luggage until 1:40 (the customs guy got pissy when he saw my work visa in my passport -- "Yes, fine, you're Canadian, whatever, but where do you spend the most time in an average year?" "Um. Canada. Because I've only been in England for four months. As you can see, both from what I very truthfully filled out on my customs card and by the stamps in my passport.") and then couldn't sleep for ages, because my body thought it was morning when we got back to the hotel. I am so very, very jetlagged.

And the Delta Chelsea has internets. The stores don't open for another hour or so, so I am trying to catch up on about three months worth of flist (good lord, you people are so verbose! cut it out! or at least point out the highlights in a sort of coles notes of lj.).

I love internets.

Much to say. Much, much, MUCH to say. Much has happened since the sort-of-some-times-hot spot in the kitchen went decidedly cold. But it will have to wait. Short form: I like teaching. Except when I don't. And I work with really fantastically awesome people at a really fantastically awesome school that I really seriously love.

And now, Christmas.

Yays!

So, plan for today: TIM HORTONS. And a little bit of putting the final touches on Christmas shopping. And TIM HORTONS. And some TIM HORTONS. And some more TIM HORTONS. Then we drive back to North Bay this evening.

*pines for that brown paper cup of caffeinated goodness*


(eta: omg! it just occurred to me that 'tis the season for holiday icons again! *uploads a mess of santas*)

I realised, as I went to update, that I have been seriously negligent in explaining certain aspects of my life.

What I was going to say was: I'm in a hotel in Dorchester that unexpectedly has internet! Fortunately I have brought my laptop along due to my later plans for October half-term break. Oriana is learning to knit behind me and we're watching NCIS on tv. Fun!

Then I realised that A) I have never mentioned what my October half-term break plans are and, B) I have never explained ORIANA.

So. To begin with, the October half-term plans. Oriana and I have rented a car and are driving through southern England until about Tuesday morning. She picked me up at home this morning and we have wound our way down and west from London. We stopped at Fishbourne, a Roman palace. I took tons of pictures and bought a couple of resources to use when I start teaching the Romans next Monday.

We then drove on, quite intentionally going by way of exceptionally minor highways rather than the major routes in order to see more of England than the London city parts we've seen so far. The high point? The village of Cocking, which includes the Spread Eagle Hotel.

Oh, my.

We are going to continue on, wrapping around the south bits and looping up into Cornwall before cutting across and up to Cambridge for Tuesday morning. Oriana is then going to continue on while I stay in Cambridge and attempt to talk my way in to see the (*cue choirs of angels*) Stead papers. I'm heading back home by train Thursday night so that I can go into the school on Friday and sort out my classroom before I start teaching on Monday.

As for the explination of Oriana... Well, perhaps the short form, as I haven't got volumes to spare here. Oriana and I met when we were 11 years old. We met in a multi-school enrichment program in grade 4, then I switched elementary schools halfway through grade 5 and ended up in her class and we became good friends, which carried on until I moved provinces at the end of grade 9. We kept in contact but didn't see each other terribly often until we ended up in the same B.Ed. program this past year. We then independently decided to apply for positions in England through the same agency. I got my job at the end of June. Three days before school started in September, she was offered a position at the same school.

So. Here we are. In a hotel room in Dorchester. I am checking my email, she is learning to knit. It is now CSI on tv.

I CAN'T SLEEP.

I AM FREAKING OUT ABOUT HOW MUCH I HAVE LEFT TO DO.

( HERE IS A PICTURE OF ME FLYING A PLANE. )

That is all.

HELLO TORONTO HI HI HI!

Although Toronto at 6:30 am on a Saturday wasn't perhaps QUITE necessary.

Off for hot chocolate and baked goods at La Maison du Croissant.

I am returned unharmed! I am pleased to report that I can still ski, despite the fact that my knee really has never been the same after the fall last January.

My sister and I had a blast, as we both ski at a pace that may best be decribed as "full-fucking-tilt" and have rarely found other ski partners who can keep up with us. When we, as we so rarely do, get the chance to ski together, it's great. Finally! Someone to ski with rather than ski in front of. (Yes, I am an insufferable braggart -- and you love it, you know you do.)

And now I have EGGNOG with RUM in it! YAYE!

And tomorrow mcee is coming out for NEW YEAR'S! YAYE!

And we are going to have lots of FUN and she is going to stay until MONDAY! YAYE!

And then I have to go back to school.

Er.

EGGNOG! With RUM! YAYE!

It will help distract me from the fact that I am apparently not twelve anymore and two days hard skiing actually leaves me stiff and sore holy hell.

*creaks a little from the bendy bits*

I did not open my computer once this weekend, not for school work nor for lj, and am now therefore dreadfully behind in both.

Please, if anything momentous happened, tell me now.

My weekend, on the other hand, was totally trivial, utterly unproductive, and possibly the most fun I've had in recent memory. I played softball on Friday and Saturday night with a team made up of people who are about as bad at the game as I am, a handful of mediocre players, and three honestly decent ones. We played hard, lost hard, and had a ton of fun. On Saturday night, after the tournament was over, we had a barbecue and then went up to the on campus bar/club thing for Eddie (ie: Education Student) Night. I drove to the barbecue and ended up staying over that night at my sectionmate's because I was just on the shady side of intoxication for driving. Also, some utterly nasty guy tried to kidnap me off to "a party back at his house" at last call, so I latched on to one of the gentlemen in the group I'd come with and clung to him with an uncharacteristic lack of respect for his personal space until we were well and away.

Have I mentioned how much fun I'm having with this program? It's the high school/undergrad experience I never had. The work is moderately intellectually demanding, I am old enough to drink, and I am together enough now to know when I can relax and have a good time instead of worrying all the time about school work.

Of course, there are less fun moments. Like today when I got a ball in the face during gym. We were playing a modified game of dodgeball that was supposed to be demonstrating the ways in which dodgeball didn't have to be an unsubtle metaphore for Darwinistic principles when one of the guys in my section got over-excited and whipped the rubber-covered foam ball with great force and little accuracy.

I have a fat lip.

Also, the modified version of dodgeball seemed to have a lot in common the traditional version as I remember it.

*ices down face*

Going to Toronto to visit lies_d and attend the Great Canadian Geekfest. Much fun will be had. Whee!

eta: Oh, hell, I meant to do laundry today. Ah, well.