I actually have access to the internet at a semi-convienient time. This can only mean one thing: I'm back in Canada! Our flight arrived on Sunday afternoon, after 2 frantic days of packing up everything we own in a 3 bedroom house in to 4 suitcases.

I've so far spent a day shopping in Waterloo for stuff that we had to throw out in Britain, spent two days with Michelle and Anj in Toronto, and am now left to my laptop and my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (no, I'm not done yet!) while James is off drinking whisky with his com-sci friends.

I'm going to be moving in to London (UWO. Did I explain this? Oh, I'm taking my MA at UWO in Public History. Full funding. Whoops, I knew there was something I didn't mention.) tomorrow, but not really moving in. I'm moving a lot of my stuff, but then will be going back to Waterloo for the weekend (Anj and Michelle are coming! yay!), and then going up to James' cottage with him for the rest of the week. And then flying to Calgary until the 22nd. So, if you're going to be in Calgary in August, drop me a line. I'll have nothing to do but eat my mother's cooking and watch Dr Phil! And it sounds wonderful.

And how does it feel to be back? Wonderful. Last year was really rough; which is one of the reasons that I've fleed from livejournal. No one wants to hear me whine all the time about how much I hate my job and my life. English schools are bad. Really bad. But, James and I are back, not planning to go back to England for at least 10 years, and quite happy with it.

Um... other things going on... I have a new cell phone! I had to buy a new one because my old one (which I am still quite fond of) was dropped a few months ago and no longer holds a charge. And I didn't want a contract because there is a very good chance I will be moving to Seattle in a year (oh. Did I mention that James got a job in Seattle? For amazon.com? For $80 000 a year plus signing bonus and stock options? Oh. Right. Well, he did.) and I'd just have to cancel the contract and pay the penalty fee (been there, done that, last year). So, I went with Solo, Bell's new budget carrier, which gives me 150 daytime minutes, unlimited evening and weekends, beginning at 5:00 pm, unlimited incoming calls, 1000 text messages, 150 long distance minutes, 25 pictures messages, call display, and voicemail, all for $35 a month. Oh, and it sings and dances, too. The downside is that, because it isn't on contract, I had to pay for my phone... so it's shit. But, it does have a camera, is a flip phone, and works. And that's all I can ask for. But I think the predictive text settings are brutal. Ugh. Anyway, I have a phone. And I'm always excited about things like that.

So that's about it. I got a cell phone.... oh, and I moved back to Canada, got accepted to grad school in to an exclusive program, with $15000 funding. And my boyfriend and I are about to embark on a one-year long distance relationship for capitalistic reasons. Did I mention the cell phone?

Looks like I'll be back in London (Canada version) next year! I've been accepted in to UWO's History MA program, with full scholarship and assistantship, worth $15 000. Which covers living expenses for the year. Sweet. I'm getting paid to do my masters.

See all you Ontario people next year! :)

In other news, I'm still in Haverhill, still alive. I've been incredibly busy and still don't have Internet at home. Easter break is in 3 weeks and James and I are spending a week at an all-inclusive resort in Turkey; should be nice. I had parent-teacher interviews all day today and my brain is mush. Ick. I'm looking forward to not doing anything this weekend.

That's about it. Schools in England SUCK! British students are nightmares! The curriculum is dodgy! I'm sorry if I'm offending anyone, but it's true. I'm just ready for this year to end, and we'll see if I'm ready to go back to teaching after a year in away in university. *sigh*

Yes, I am alive. Very busy though.

Important parts: I've had my contract extended through to next summer. Looks like I'm a Brit for awhile.

Year 8's are driving me nuts. I miss well-behaved Clarke Road kids.

James and I went hiking in Wales for a week. It was awesome. And rainy.

Now back to work. James should be picking me up from work soon, and then we're having dinner with his parents, who just arrived near here today.

Ok, so I've now officially survived the first week. Yay!

Frack, British kids are loud! Like, really loud. Unbelievably loud. Painfully loud. And pretty damn bad, too. But, that's happily dealt with through the "Exit" system, whereby a kid gets one warning before they get an official warning from the "exit teacher" (yay! 5 minute break from the kid!) and then gets removed from the class if you need to deal with them again. And the fun part is that, while in a NOrth American school the administration would consider you incompetent if you couldn't deal with the kid by yourself, in England you're considered weak if you *don't* use the system. Yay!

Oh, and grade fives are adorable. And not very bad. I'm very happy about that. However, half my timetable is filled up with grade eights, who are little bastards. Hence the exit system. And the administration and other teachers really are super nice, and I even got a card and chocolates for surviving my first week from my year leader. And, of course, some of the kids are really nice, too. I even have my own little Miss Waugh fan club already. And the grade eight with the attitude that I need to tell off for talking during reading time every morning comes to chat with me and share her chocolate during break time. So, even the little bastards are pretty much nice kids, just used to a system where they are expected to act up in school.

James and I did end up getting the house in Haverhill. It's a pretty nice place, and we're slowly building up our collection of furniture. We even got a fridge and washing machine this week! We're still sleeping on an air matress, but it's not that bad. My parents ordered a package for me from John Lewis (think The Bay, but with really high quality home stuff) so I'm very excited to see what they ordered.

That's about it. Hope everyone is having a great beginning to the new school year, wherever they are!

Ok, it is Wednesday and we are still in Cambridge. Yikes. We have picked out our potential place in Haverhill, but are still waiting for our references to go through. If everything goes splendidly, we will be moving in tomorrow morning. If things don't.... we have a contingency plan for Friday at least.

I don't want to talk too much about the potential place just in case we don't end up getting it, but it's absolutely HUGE. It's a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath brand new house. It's much more space than we need, but it's comfortably within our budget (Haverhill is cheap) and I'm kind of in love with the kitchen and master bedroom ensuit.

I visited the school I'm going to be teaching at today. I'm going to be teaching grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. But I have my own room with a data projector and SmartBoard and everyone seems nice. My first day is Friday, which is a PD day, and then only the grade 5's are in the school on Monday, and then my first real teaching day is Tuesday. Hopefully I have a place to live by then!

I'll keep you posted.

Ok, so here I am in Cambridge.... and for the first time in my life I'm glad to not be in London. It was so busy there and James and I had like 250 lbs of luggage between us, and there were no hotels or hostels in the entire city available for last night. So, we very quickly bought a £350 (yes folks, that is $700 Canadian) 1988 VW Golf, put insurance on it over the internet, and got the hell out of the city. But not before driving into Central London (*gasp* *flinch* *covers eyes*) to pick up our luggage from our hotel in Bayswater. And James and I have made a pact to never drive in London ever again. And it only took the painful loss of the passenger's side mirror. But, we (accidentally, after not being able to get on the motorway where we wanted to) drove down my old street (Willesden High Road!!!) and went to the Neasden Ikea to pick up a few things. And have dinner. I love Ikea.

So, we're in a hotel in Cambridge right now, and are going out to Bury St Edmunds to scope out the town tomorrow. Hopefully we'll have a place to live by Tuesday. *crosses fingers*

Oh, and for your future information, the car's name is Gunther. Remember that. There will be a test.

Ok, so I'm now down to one day before we head off to England.

What I did this week:

Packed. A lot. And yet my room still doesn't look any different than it did a few weeks ago. A few of the boxes are gone, but there's still stuff *everywhere*, the closet is still full, and the trunk of my car can't hold much more. I'm screwed.

James and I went to London last Sunday to meet with Brianne (AKA The Platonic Soulmate) and her fiance. We had a great time, just wandering around the city and going out to dinner. It was so nice to be able to see her one last time before I don't see her again until Christmas. She still looks so young, which makes it hard to believe that she's getting married next summer! Ack! I feel so old! We ended up spending the night in London at James' cousin's place. I love James' cousin. He's so fun and smart and gay and well-groomed. And he talked James into black leather Hush Puppies, for which I am eternally grateful. James has nice shoes!

Which leads me to the reason that we spent the night in London. Monday was my super-fun cervical biopsy day at St. Joseph's Hospital in London. I learned what's more fun than a pap smear! *shudder* But, they did take some tissue samples and if it's positive, I get to have a super-fun laser treatment in a few months, and if it's negative I just get the joy of having to have cervical biopsies instead of pap smears for the rest of my life. Because the abnormal cells are there, and pap smears will just tell us that they're there, which we already know, and I'll need routine biopsies to show whether the cells are changing.

Ugh.

Ok, so I packed Tuesday and Wednesday, and then Anj came to Waterloo on Thursday. We just hung out in Waterloo for a few days, went to the drunken kareoke night at the Silver Spur on Friday (Anj and I actually sang Belinda Carlisle's Heaven is a Place on Earth *hang head in shame*). On Saturday, we drove to Toronto, dropped Violet off at Anj's parents house (yay! a home for my bird!), and then headed downtown to the CNE. For those of you from Calgary, the CNE is pretty much the Calgary Stampede, but bigger and without the rodeo. And the Mini Donuts aren't as good. But the funnel cakes are better. And no one really goes on the rides at all because everyone has already been to Canada's Wonderland several times this summer. And there were a lot of booths giving out free stuff.... and food was more expensive, which I didn't think was possible. We actually had the most fun in the pavillion with all the booths selling random stuff.... we started arguing whether each product was science or magic, and actually got quite a few presenters arguing with us. Particularly the Chamois girl.

Anj: "I'm a scientist and I know science and this is *magic*!!!"

We also scared one poor woman by telling her that her squeegy was just science and not from the demon realms, and sadly walking away.

Oh, and in the farm building there was a guy sculpting a Cragon (see: Jack Sparrow) from butter. It was neat.

James and I ended up going out for dinner with his sister who was in Toronto, afterwards, which was really nice. I really like her, which is a good thing. And we tried to sell her on a Mac for her new computer. Hehe.

So, yesterday was spent stuck in the packing hell dimension, which is what I'm going to be doing again today. ugh. Wish me luck! I also am going to have to make like 3 trips to the Salvation Army because I have so much crap and my car is already full. Ugh.

Ok, sources of major stress in my life right now:

1. Sell my car.
2. FInd a place for my stuff to go.
3. Get my visa application approved and sent back.
4. Find home for budgie.
5. Pack up all of worldly belongings.
6. Shop for teacher clothing.
7. Call doctor about possible cervical cancer.

Ok, getting closer. After finally giving up the ghost on the cheap/free classifieds, I paid the $40 for an Autotrader ad to sell my car. And 12 hours later, my parents called to say that they want to buy my car. Turns out that they finally recognized that their Safari van is a scary gas guzzler and no longer necessary now that they've sold the trailer. So, they're going to give me $5500 for the car and told me to fill it with as much of my stuff as I can (and still have room for their suitcase) and they'll fly down here and then drive it back to Calgary.

I also got an email from the British embassy in Ottawa. My visa has been approved and now I can expect it to be Expressposted back to me in the next 3 days. Yay! I'll be able to leave the country!

I also *also* got an email from Student Health Services at UWO, asking me to call the information nurse today during their office hours about my recent tests I had done. I was told that if they come back abnormal, I'm going to be referred to a specialist. There is no way I can get into a specialist in the next 10 days. I'm a little worried about this one, but won't freak out until I speak to the nurse.

Plus, teaching clothes shopping with James after work! Yay!

So, I've discovered the meaning of life:

It's been sweltering hot here for the last couple weeks. Like, *sweltering*. Temperatures ranging around 50 degrees with the humidex, no air movement, high humidity, no rain. I live in the top floor of a really old house without air conditioning and so the roof holds all the heat and the house stays at a comfortable 37 degrees, day and night. I work in a restaurant, around steam and grills and fryers. I spend all my time soaked in my own sweat and the only escape is standing under a stream of water as cold as it can go in the shower.

And then last night it rained. Thunderstorm actually, torential downpour. And so James and I went out to Waterloo Park and sat on top of the playground and watched the spectacular lightning and got drenched.

And that is what life is about. After weeks of feeling nothing but my own sweat, shivering at the wonderfulness of my cold wet clothes sticking to my body and the cool wind whipping past us as we sit on the highest point we could find. Just the feeling of being alive and the belief that everything else in the world must be ok because we can still get that feeling, after weeks of nothing.

As we were leaving the park, soaked and muddy, James turned to me and said, "I love you." I of course answered back that I loved him, too. He stopped and insisted, "No, I *really* love you." *melt*

Live is good.

And it's only supposed to go up to 24 degrees today so hopefully the house (which is still nearly unbearably hot, due to the whole "roof holds heat" thing) will cool down. And then on Friday I'm going up to James' family's cottage with James, Michelle, James' entire family (including the one sister that I still have yet to meet), and James' entire extended family. *whimper* I'm going to be that girl that's taking him away to England. I just know it now.

But at least I'll have the lake to jump into.

I've been thinking a lot about selling my car, Georgette, a silver 2001 Hyundai Accent. This is hurting me greatly. I bought that car brand new the last month of high school and it was the first thing I ever bought that was all mine (well, also the bank's, but that's another point). And we've had some amazing times together over the last 5 years. She faithfully got me to the University of Calgary every morning (a 45 minute drive from Airdrie) for four years, and then across the country to London, our last minute road trip to Florida, and everything in between. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've talked out all my problems with her, made plans with her, asked her about her day.... She's the only one who's allowed to hear me belt out some off-key pop song. She's really been as much a friend as a car, over these years.

And yet, I'm taking her to used-car dealerships tomorrow to see what I could get for her.

Here's my dilemma: I have a great car that needs a little work (new pipe in the exhaust system, new tires) but still has a lot of years left in her. I am also moving to England for the next year. I need money. I don't particularly have the money to continue paying registration, insurance, and storage on a car that I'm not going to be using for the next year. I also think it would be particularly cruel to let my baby sit in a parking lot in some self-storage yard next to a bunch of boats and RV's for an entire year. Both cruel to her as a vehicle, and cruel to her as my friend.

However, I am coming back next summer, and I will definitely need a car then. So, if I sell her, I'm just going to put myself out next year when I need to buy another car.

Oy.

James tells me that selling her right now would be the smart short-term decision, but would screw me over long term. He's probably right, but what guarantee do I have that I won't come back next summer to find that I need to completely over-haul her, because she was left sitting outside all winter.

There's also the emotional attachment. I may be crazy, but it actually *hurts* to think of selling Georgette. She may not be much, but she's mine. And I spent 5 years paying her off; I only finished paying off the car loan this March (and there's that point). I don't want to go back into car debt.

Sigh. I'm going to work. And tomorrow, I will begin to visit used-car lots. As sad as it makes me.

Ok, so a Counting Crows concert is a religious experience.

First off, the Goo Goo Dolls were ok. Good, but nothing special. They played the expected stuff, plus a few songs from their most recent album, and then got off the stage, stating that they knew that everyone was waiting for the Crows. And the crowd really was. There was energy when the Goo Goo Dolls were on stage, but not a lot of it and there were quite a few people (including James and I) who were just sitting there talking, enjoying the music but not more than we would be if we were listening to a cd.

Counting Crows started off their set with the title track from Hard Candy, and then launched straight into Mrs Potter's Lullaby. I had told James weeks ago that if they played that song, it would be a religious experience for me. It's my favorite song of all time (well, pretty much tied with Mr Jones) and I really wanted to hear them play it (even though I didn't think they would, as it's 11 minutes long) because I was curious as to what Adam Duritz would do to it live. I was not disappointed. It was about 20 minutes long and he told a story about The Palace right before the last verse. Turns out that the verse is about a sudden trip out to the middle of nowhere in California to escape Hollywood one day, and the band ended up playing at this bar (The Palace) in a run-down abandoned old movie-making town ("the places that used to be") And then Adam goes on to say that just last week, most of this town burned to the ground, and that one of the few things left standing is, of course, The Palace. "So I want you to remember that in life there are a lot of things that will be and a lot of things that used to be and some things that still are. And The Palace is one of them!"

And then into my favorite verse in my favorite song of all time.

James insists that I looked like I had an orgasm at that point.

They played Omaha (with the audience screaming out the line "it's the heart that matters more"), Monkey, Time and Time Again, Big Yellow Taxi, Miami, Black and Blue, St Robinson and His Cadillac Dreams, Hangingaround.... And between each song, Adam revealed a little bit more about himself. Like, the fact that backstage at that very amphitheatre in Toronto was where he first met the parents of the girl that he eventually ended up writing Black and Blue for. Just little pieces of information that give new meaning to the songs.

But the most unexpected religious moment came during Round Here. I've always loved the song as a classic Counting Crows song, but Adam's interpretation of it was just brilliant. A kind of "make the voices in my head stop" interpretation, but one that gave a wonderful insight into the true meaning of the song. And it was like 10 minutes long and nearly made me cry.

I love Counting Crows.

They didn't play Mr Jones. The audience screamed for an encore, and we got it, and were all expecting Mr Jones. Adam sang Holiday in Spain. On one hand, it makes me sad because I love Mr Jones, but I also respect the decision. Counting Crows is not a one hit wonder.

It was an amazing concert, and very worth the wait. Adam Duritz is truly a genius. I love the way he changes his songs to fit his current mood, and knows exactly what the audience needs at each particular moment of the concert. And he took breaks to tell stories and plug his charities and encourage everyone to vote and get involved. He's not only a poet, but a pretty amazing guy.

Apparently their next album will be released late next year. I can't wait.

Ok, so here's what's going on in my life right now:

James got a job teaching maths at a fairly prestigious prep school in Bury St Edmunds. Which is about 30 minutes from Haverhill, where I'll be teaching. So, the current plan is for us to live in Bury St Edmunds (together; ack!!!), somewhere which is fairly accessible to his school, and then buy a car so that I can drive to work in Haverhill.

We booked our flight on Friday. It's the most insane round-about way to get to England, in an effort to find the cheapest flight possible. We'll be leaving from Toronto on August 22, flying to Chicago, then flying from Chicago to Cophenhagen, Denmark. We get into Copenhagen at 1:00 in the afternoon and, because we can, we're going to spend the night there before flying on to London the next afternoon. From there, it's a couple of days in London before heading out into the wilderness to find a flat and a car.

As far as actually being let into the country: I got my work permit last Friday and now James and I have been running around like crazy people this morning, trying to get all our papers mailed off to Ottawa to get our visas. They've been overnight Express-post -ed to the British embassy, and we're hoping that our papers will be processed in the 3 weeks before we NEED them. I'm a bit nervous. And by a bit, I mean that James made me get up out of bed this morning to get my stuff done because he said he could feel me mentally twitching.

I'm also a bit twitchy about James and I moving in together. I mean, I love him and we've been dating for almost a year and our relationship has been really good for the last while, but.... *mental freak out*. It's a big step. Last night, James suggested that if it's possible (aka: affordable), we could get a two-bedroom flat and then designate the second bedroom as a spare bedroom/office, but that it would also give us a "time out" place, should one of us need it. I can't see it being used much, but it would give us peace of mind, just knowing that it exists.

So, as it stands, we're very excited, but also terrified about moving. There's just too many things to do and too many questions (what will I do with my stuff? Should I sell my car? Who's going to take my budgie? Am I even going to get my visa in time? Can I drive standard on the left side of the road?) to really be looking forward to going, at this point.

But, I'm worrying about that tomorrow. Today, James and I are heading off to Toronto for the Counting Crows/Goo Goo Dools concert. Anyone who's known me for any length of time knows that Counting Crows has pretty much been my favorite band since high school, and I've never seen them in concert. So, this is exciting. I can panic about my visa tomorrow.

He's coming with me to England. We're living together and buying a car. I'm a bit terrified.

Details later.

Hmmm, so my level of posting has deeply declined. This is because *nothing is happening*.

I went with James and like 3 of his friends and 4 people he had never met before to his cottage this past weekend. It was very nice. :) James' family owns 2 cottages next to each other, so we put 7 people in the bigger of the two, and James and I took the other, even though it comfortably sleeps 4. It was so nice, having the whole cottage to ourselves, going to sleep with moonlight coming in through the loft windows and the waves laping on the shore.... While in the other cottage the kids were drinking themselves stupid and smoking enough weed to make a Vancouverite impressed. It was really hot all weekend, so we spent a lot of time in the water... and James taught me to sail! And it's really hard! Good weekend.

And then on Monday I had to drive to London (an hour and a half away) for a really sucky doctor's appointment. And then today I had to take my car in to fix a multitude of problems that are going to cost over $1000 to fix. Damn.

Can I just go back to the cottage? Please?

As of right now, I'm still planning on heading to England next month. That could still change if I don't get my work permit or if I find a job here. Please, find a job here. :D

Oh the excitement. Here were James and my Friday night plans: eat dinner, go out with his friends fairly early so that I can still get some sleep and go to work for 8:00 tomorrow morning.

Here is what we did:

4:45 - 6:00 - Cuddle on my bed with the budgie
6:00 - 7:00 - Made dinner and ate it at James' house
7:00 - Flaked out with James on James' couch
10:00 - Woke up.

Ooops. So, I walked home and now I'm having a cup of herbal tea before I go (back) to bed. And that is my Friday night of the Canada Day long weekend.

Ok, so it was actually pretty damned good. lol

I spoke with James this morning and he said that he has a 2nd interview on Tuesday (Monday being a holiday) for a teaching placemement in or near Cambridge. And the best part is, he actually sounded kind of excited when I spoke to him. That's the big hurdle; I know he can get a job in the UK, relatively closer to where I'll be, but it's getting him to actually want to go. We heard a lot of horror stories about teaching in the UK (scary schools in scarier areas) but I think that the idea of teaching in a less metropoliltan area is more attractive to him. Plus me, of course. lol

Oh, and Happy (almost) Canada Day! I was grouchy because I'm going to be late to the BBQ and fireworks tomorrow because I work 8-5, until I realised how I spent Canada Day last year: in bed, unable to eat or drink, with a fever, sore throat, and constant vomiting. As I spent most of June and July. Yay for no mono this year!

Ok, and here's my list for my one day off this week:
1) Laundry
2) More laundry
3) More laundry, and this time all my bedding (including duvet cover), which is so much work.
4) Grocery shopping
5) Lunch
6) Call (AGAIN for the 3rd day in a row) to attempt to make a doctor's appointment at UWO in London.
7) Drive to Cambridge (the Ontario one, clearly) to go visit my Great Aunt, Great Great Grandparents, and Great Grandfather's graves. I'm only about a half hour drive away and I like being able to go whenever I want.
8) Clean Violet's cage. Have I mentioned Violet? She's my budgie that I got about a month ago. She's a sweetheart, and a bit neurotic, but is already almost tamed and likes to sit on your shoulder and give you kisses. Except when she's in a temper tantrum mood, and then she flies around like an idiot, runs into walls, and squawks like something's trying to eat her.
8) Flop out on my bed with James.

Oh the excitement of a day off. Laundry, bird cages, and cemeteries. Oh, the fun.

I'm really trying not to get my hopes up but.... I found out today that James has contacted a British teacher recruitment agency and has a telephone interview tomorrow morning. He's going to request a placement in the Cambridge area and being a math teacher gives him some leverage. He's not sure he wants to go so I'm trying not to think about it too much; too many what-ifs...... but I'm so excited.

I may get to keep my awesome boyfriend after all.

So, on Thursday morning at 7:00 I had a telephone interview with the headmaster of a school near Cambridge in the UK. We chatted about British weather, our mutual colds, day trips on Ryanair to Italy.... and then after a few minutes he started lecturing me on why I should come teach at his school.

As of 7:26, I became a British geography and history middle school teacher.

It's only guaranteed until the Christmas break; I'm the temporary teacher while they attempt to fill the vacancy with someone who they know will be at least semi-permanent. But it could be a year contract if they like me. And I at least know I have teaching employment in September, which is definitely a relief. It'll give me an income source and some experience to put on my resume for when I go back to job searching in Canada.

James and I are still figuring out what will happen. The current plan is for him to come for a couple weeks in August on vacation with me in Calgary, and then for him to come for the week before Christmas to the UK. What happens between then is a mystery. Our relationship is pretty damn great right now, and we've decided we're going to have an amazing summer, end things on a high note, and try to go into "low commitment, no expectations" mode while I'm in England. Because we both know that we can't do long distance and would rather scale the relationship back while we still love each other, with the good chance that we'll get back together when I get back to Canada, then to be stressed over the long distance thing and possibly end up hating each other. We have no idea if it'll work, but it's the current plan.

I spent the weekend camping up on Georgian Bay with Michelle, James, Michelle's sister, and a few of their friends. It was fun; it's beautiful up there and the hiking and climbing was awesome. Plus, all the smores you can eat and non-stop James cuddles under the guise of conserving body heat. lol And I got a flat tire and got it fixed for next to nothing in the middle of nowhere, by possibly the nicest mechanic in the entire world. It was a good weekend.

I somehow in the last 24 hours have found myself in the possession of 3 jobs.

First, there's the crap factory work job. I'm quitting that as soon as I possibly can. Night shifts are brutal and I just don't care about Volvo parts.

Next, there's the job as Assistant Manager of Taco Bell. I'm kinda chuffed at this one (as chuffed as anyone can be about Taco Bell) because I applied for a Shift Manager position, and by the end of the interview they were so impressed with me that they offered me the Assistant Manager job - which is usually unheard of before you've been trained as a lower manager. The place is only about 5 minutes from my house, but it only pays $8.50 an hour.

Next, there's the job at an incoming call centre in Cambridge. It involves collections, which means that people will yell at me, but it also means that I'm sitting in a nice comfortable office, in nice comfortable office clothing. It pays $10 an hour, but I'd always have the evening shift, from 3:30 until 11:00, which kind of sucks as far as seeing anyone is concerned. It's also in Cambridge, which is a 20 minute drive on the 401 from my house.

So, I've said yes to both of those jobs. I start training at the call centre on Monday, and the district manager from Taco Bell is going to be out of town until Wednesday, so I won't be able to start there until Thursday at the earliest. So, I'm going to start training at IRMC for 3 days, decide how i like it, and if the extra $1.50 an hour is worth the commute and crappy hours. Although, this Taco Bell is open until 1:00 on weekends, so there would be crappy hours there, too.... just not consistent crappy hours.

I'm sort of screwing over both people (well, whichever one I decide to turn down last minute) by doing this but.... that's life. If I quit IRMC last minute, it won't affect me, and if I quit Taco Bell last minute, it just means that I'll have to go to the other Taco Bell in Kitchener-Waterloo when I need a nacho fix.

In other job news, James has been offered a position in the Waterloo Occaisional Teacher list. Lucky bastard. Hehe. They haven't even begin calling applicants on the Social Sciences list, so I'm not too concerned yet, I just want to know where I'm going to be next year!

James wasn't feeling great last night, so he turned down his friends' night of drinking to go on a date with me. We cuddled on the couch, went for dinner at this Vietnamese noodle place that I'm addicted to (and might have moved to K-W to be close to. hehe.) and then went and saw X-Men 3. And I only fell asleep once. *grin* And then we cuddled on my bed for awhile before he decided that he should go home and take some Gravol. Ugh. Oh well, I got my James time. Anj was right; she said that once we moved out of rez, we would spend more time alone together than we ever did when we were only across the hall. Now that there's a (very) little bit of distance, we've stopped taking for granted that we'll see each other all the time anyway, and actually make time to spend with each other. Instead of James just wandering in at 2:00 am after playing video games with Michelle all night. Things have become good again, which is very nice. He was even repeatedly sending MSN messages to Michelle yesterday afternoon while I was at my interview, asking if I was home yet, because he hadn't seen my in a day and a half. lol

Hey, I still am alive, although I might have lost some body parts from the cold of the weekend.

I went with James' family to their cottage in Muskoka for the long weekend. It was fun; the cottage was nice, the area was beautiful, I got to canoe, and James decided that his favorite weekend activity was making out on the docks. The temperature also never got above 10 degrees (Celsius, of course) and so I might have lost feeling in my toes for an entire weekend. But that just gave me an excuse to cuddle viciously. It was nice to get to spend an entire weekend with my boyfriend, without having to share him (his family doesn't count).

And now I need a job. Technically, I have a job, starting today. It's also working for a temp agency at a metal fabrication company, from 4:30 pm until 3:00 am, Monday to Thursday in the shipping department. That sucks. Clearly, I'm not going to be sticking around very long. I do have a job interview on Friday for another job, along with my best friend from high school handing in my resume today at her office, which is apparently so desperate for workers that they're offering a referral bonus. So, I'm not going to be working at this job for long; possibly even only until Thursday. Which is a good thing, because my boyfriend and Michelle are working 7:00 - 3:30 and if I'm working 4:30 until 3:00, I'm never ever going to see them. But I'll make $300 even if I just work until Thursday, so it's too good to pass up. Well, not good.... but I'm poor. Plus, if I don't work until 4:30, it gives me plenty of time to go to job interviews at other places.

Ugh. I just want it to be September so I can start teaching.