blog spam

it really doesn't take long for people to realise that there is now a new way to communicate and therefore a new way to spam. the bastards.

i've turned word verfication on for anyone who wants to comment. it's not a foolproof way for keeping people from posting links to their sites for penis enlargement - which was the latest comment i deleted - but hopefully it will crack down on crime.

anyhoo, it's turned out to be quite a beautiful and sunny day here. i was expected it to be rainy and crap after all the rain we had last night, but this may just call for a ride around town or perhaps trying to find the promenade on my bike. i do have to stock up on groceries and lunch food for next week and figure out where i can buy a turkey.

oh yes, i've decided to host a thanksgiving dinner next sunday night. so if anyone wants to fly over i'll be cooking my very first turkey.

the last days of unemployment

what better way to exercise the fact that you're unemployed than getting your new friends drunk on a school night and making them extremely hungover for the next day? for the record, i wasn't the one that kept buying rounds of double j.d. and coke....especially after 4 bottles of wine.

in any case, i think dave, chris and jo had a splendid time dancing it up to some motown and funk at la'go - MUCH better than the blue angel - and even though i received several "we'll get you back for this lauren" texts, i know they loved it.

so much of yesterday was spent recovering from the night before.

today, well, today i think i'll bike into town and check out the two competing cathedrals. the anglican one is apparently te third largest in europe or something like that. i do say, it looks very impressive at night. tonight i will make every attempt to keep out of trouble.

also, as i'm starting work on monday, the blog postings will probably become a little less frequent as the library closes at 5 pm and is only open on saturday. once i check out the internet access at work, i'll give you an update.

oh...and this...

correction notice:

in the posting "so much for sleeping in" the line "who love's ryanair?" should have read "who loves ryanair?". thanks dad ;)

so much for sleeping in.

that will have to start tomorrow, but i have been enjoying the last few days of unemployment.

yesterday i woke up nice and early and got myself to the library for 9 am. i thought an afternoon movie would be in the cards, so i took the bus to FACT (this new media arts centre...think excentris in mtl) and saw crash. very good, i highly reccomend it. it was even playing in the box (picture a room with rows of ikea-type sofas with a *really* big movie screen) so it called for a coffee, shoes off and a bit of a stretch. i even treated myself to mid-afternoon lunch at tabac afterwards.

today it's off to manc to revitalise the office wardrobe (dolly will attest to the fact that it was a bit scattered towards the end) so i can dress for success...or to impress...for my first week of work.

i was considering going to florence this week, but i decided that i'd save my pennies and just book it for a later date when i can do the round trip for £30 instead of £90.

who love's ryan air??? i do.

officially employed

well, that's that. i got the call from the nml today that my references checked out (surprise, surprise!) and they will be sending me the contract details in the post....official title, Administrative Officer, Learning Resources Department.

i still have the 2nd interview in manchester scheduled for tuesday, but i think i will call to cancel. as much as that job would be great, i just cannot spend 3 hrs a day commuting. i weighed up the career vs. life issue as i tend to do at this type of juncture and as usual chose the life. i still need to make friends and have a social life here and as much as that network is growing, i want to be able to go out with my coworkers for a pint after work and not have to worry about taking the train back home. the pay was also a bit less and it would have cost me a pretty penny to make that commute daily.

the nml job will get my feet wet in the uk job market and the contract is up at the end of march so i'll get to start looking again! yippeee! but that's also when most fiscal years end in the uk so also when loads of jobs will be coming up.

so a bit of office attire shopping will be in the cards next week and a lot of sleeping in.

more driving range and games night last evening...and val, i'm shamed to admit that steve and dave convinced me to go to the blue angel yet again...during freshers week no less! remind me not to play drinking games with them again ;)

huh...well that was surprising

and so the saying goes, the job interview that you think goes horribly has actually gone quite well.

last night at about 5:30 pm i get a phone call from james the hr man at the nml and they have decided to choose me for the admin officer post in the learning resources department and want to check my references.

um....really? are you sure? cause i thought i sounded like a bumbling idiot!

so then had to ask the awkward question of "when would i have to let you know as i'm waiting to hear back from other spots too." as earlier in the day i was called for a second interview at the lowry in manchester.

here things stands:
1) admin officer post in mine as long as the references check out (yippee! make sure you're sitting by the phone dolly and elaine!)
2) 2nd interview in manchester, not too hyped about the commute
3) phone call this morning from jenny the hr girl at nml saying i didn't get the dream job as exhibitions officer. bah. but she was very complimentary and gave me lots of feedback so that was good.

all of this means i can go shopping today to buy such necessities as a second towel, duvet cover, new pj's, and a couple sweaters. i tell you, packing your life away in the summer means you bring loads of tank tops and t-shirts, but neglect to think that it might actually get *cold* in liverpool.

and the last one.

had the last job interview in this run this morning. it was alright, well, no it actually didn't go very well i thought. i couldn't tell whether they wanted me to be excrutiatingly nice and friendly or overly professional. and when i'm a bit nervous i tend to go the professional route.

i wasn't nearly as comfortable at this job interview as i was at the other two so hopefully i fare a little better with them.

should have news by the end of the week. fingers and toes crossed please.

i went to the tate on sunday to see the summer of love exhibition...very cool. had lunch by myself at tabac and read the sunday papers, and finished the day off with drinks at schmooze with dave, harriet and sof.

made a short visit to uncle bill and irene yesterday, which was nice. i hadn't realised that i haven't been to see them in about two weeks...shame on me.

more lessons on the pool

i went to this community theatre production last night outdoors in north liverpool with sam and jo. the north pool is notorious for yobos, hooliganism, crime and other assorted creatures and has been targeted by the capital of culture's *regeneration* projects.

this essentially means that hundreds of people have been evicted from their homes because at some point in the next few years they are going to tear them all down and start over. it also means that these poverty stricken peeps are not going to be able to afford these new homes and will be displaced somewhere else. well, someone decided to write a play about it, and apart from the lag in the plot about three quarters of the way through, it was damn good.

but i guess when you're expecting a huge influx of tourists you use the cash to cover up all of your blemishes. kind of like going on a rash diet or getting plastic surgery before a high school reunion, you want to make an impression.

in a city like liverpool that's got such a horrid rap amongst the rest of britain, i'm starting to understand why so many brits ask me "why liverpool? i mean, of *all* the places you could choose!"

i think the answer to that is familiarity, grit, and quite possibly the warmest welcome i've ever experienced in any city.

two down...

well, more smiling and nodding at the interview at the lowry today. i think it would be quite exciting to work there as the development office is just being started. however, i think i probably would get bored of it after 6 months to a year as it wouldn't be overly challenging for me. i probably should have applied for the development manager position instead of assistant but oh well. it would be a start.

the commute would be a bit crap though...

its weird how city rivalries stay the same in different countries. manchester *feels* like toronto in a lot of ways, the same as liverpool kinda *feels* like montreal. except, of course, they're british. i dunno, you'll just all have to come visit to see what i mean ;)

it's really frosty here today, i'm kind of cold so will spend much of the afternoon drinking tea methinks.

one down...

yesterday's interview went well, really well actually. i found it remarkably easy and was able to answer every question without hesitation and make the woman i could potentially be working for smile and nod a lot...methinks thats a good thing.

only glitch is that they won't be able to let me know until next week because they have one interview that couldn't be scheduled for yesterday. oh well. just have to get ready for the one tomorrow.

it felt a bit weird to be in a suit again, briefcase and all, walking down the street with all the other office types. strange feeling that.

just taking it easy today as its kind of gloomy out. i had dinner last night with rich and then went for a couple of pints with the pink richs...good fun.

when it rains, it pours

my goodness...i can't believe this, i have three interviews in the next week. so everyone cross their fingers and run the water for good luck (although i suppose that would involve getting up very early in the morning...)

the first is on wednesday at the nml for the exhibitions officer for the john moores 24. this is the dream! it's organised in conjunction with the liverpool biennial and features 24 young, upcoming artists that are chosen every two years by a jury. working on something like this would be absolutely incredible...

the second is on friday in manchester at the lowry. its kind of like a place des arts complex and they're looking for a development assistant. it's exactly what i set out to do, but it is in manchester, which involves almost an hour commute each way...everyday.

the third is next tuesday again at the nml. admin officer in the learning resources dept. this one's probably the least desirable, but at this point i'm just astounded that all of these interviews came at once!

i haven't heard from starbucks, but kind of glad as i was dreading saying "yeah, i'll take the job, but i need three days off already." i somehow don't think that would have gone over too well.

off to manchester today to find myself the perfect suit...

i mean, c'mon, i *scream* barista!

well, i had my test run at starbucks yesterday and i think it went well, i was told it went well, so hopefully i'll be wearing a green apron some time next week. i got there and they threw me right on the cash, which was kind of like playing a video game with all the drop down menus and buttons. very fancy.

now. everyone has to promise not to laugh - too hard - at my evening last night. i went to the driving range with sofian, dave, phil and steve. it was quite hilarious as i haven't done that for years, but it was a good laugh. i almost killed steve...sorry!...but did have about 20 really pretty shots. every time i hit i good one i yelled "did everyone see that really pretty shot?!" i would get sooo excited.

then it was back to sofian & steve's for hours of mario kart my all-time favorite video game. actually the only video game i like at all.

i do, however, think i've been cursed. as i left my house yesterday morning (keep in mind that i live in a residential area) there was this older woman dressed all in black standing at the top of my street. as i passed she said "do you want any lucky charms before you go on your way?"

uh....no.

very peculiar and i'm just waiting for all these random things to start happening to me.

i thought there would be more stars...

in my mission to land this job at the nml (national museums liverpool) i started doing some research yesterday by visiting the newly refurbished world museum.

it was kind of like the r.o.m. i suppose and had some really neat stuff. it was strange, but i got a bit nostalgic in the "americas" section; strange how that happens. the real highlight - and the reason why i went - was to go to the planetarium. unfortunately, what i remember of the planetarium of my youth (absolutely massive, reclining chairs, really cool and dark) was not what it is now.

the room was really tiny, had only three rows of chairs and there were all of these square pictures not just stars and constellations and the like. however, there was a five minute bit at the end showing constellations, which was neat.

i've been faithfully riding my bike into town everyday as long as it's not raining. i really should invest in a splash guard for the back wheel. maybe i'll treat myself if i land that job at starbucks today.

mocha non-fat latte anyone?

will work 4 free coffee

apparently the interview at starbucks went alright. they have this little scoresheet that they tally up right in fron of you...quite strange. in any case, i've been invited for a death by caffeine two hour test run tomorrow morning. as long as i get at least two americanos it will be all good.

in more exciting news, i have a job interview at the national museum of liverpool on september 20th. its for an admin officer in the learning resources department. not the dream job, but would give me some uk experience for my cv. i'm trying my best not to get my hopes up as i'll have to convince them that i'm not taking off for canada in 3 months time...which i'm not.

so i'm going to spend the next week exploring the museum since i haven't been and i figure i'd best do some research.

off for drinks tonight at new york on allerton rd. (i know that sounds totally bizarre) with harriet, sofian et al.

did i even go to london?

i honestly don't even felt like i saw anything of london. kind of like rome in that there is way to much to see and it is quite overwhelming, which means that being there with someone makes everything a little more manageable.

the train ride down was a breeze and i met kevin at euston. we headed to janet and richard's house (this massive 4 story in west london...very posh) and were greeted by lots of food and drink. i get the impression that their house is kind of like a hostel, people always coming and going. they are incredibly nice and great to be around.

the next morning we headed to oxford circus and carnaby street for a bit of a shop. tubed it out to the london eye to buy tickets and then walked along the thames towards the tate modern for the frida kahlo show. it was amazing. i love canadian art exhibitions, but they don't seem to be able to bring in the most important works of an artist's career...an institution like the tate certainly can. being cultured out we headed to a pub for some drink and grub.

we then walked by to the london eye and boarded in no time...its like a really big, slow ferris wheel. it was really neat to see london from up there getting dark and then suddenly being lit up again.

janet and richard picked us up from there and we went for a drink before getting a mini driving tour courtesy of janet and being dropped at leicester square. we roamed around there a bit, went for a drink at the pub kevin used to work at and then had some sushi served via conveyor belt. even though by this point we were dog tired, we stayed up drinking with richard and gavin - one of the other guests - until 3 am. much fun and politiking.

sunday i just roamed around before catching my train home...the ride got REALLY boring after about an hour. it was damn hot in london, but it was really stunning. thanks to the free hospitality of j & r i'll probably be heading back many times to go see all those museums i missed out on.

what happened to august?

well, i'm off to london this afternoon and i'm really excited. a) because i'm going to london, and b) because i'm meeting up with kevin and i can't wait to see someone from home. it will be really nice to see a familiar face that i don't have to explain what i'm doing in england to.

i also have a job interview on monday....at starbucks. suggestions were made that i should wear the starbucks apron that kathy stole for me, but i think i'll stick to black.

other than that, not much to report. i went to visit uncle bill and irene yesterday and they are both doing well.

and if anyone fancies a visit...check out fly zoom! super cheap flights...