Busy Bee

I must say, since my last post I've been a busy little bee!  And not with work! Well, no, work has been busy, but I've also been rather social...

My land lady is out of town, so last wednesday night one of her friends looked in on me and took me out for dinner to 'make sure I was eating right'.. cute. Had a nice steak dinner on their tab, which is always a bonus.

Then on Thursday I had dinner with my half-brother Adam. He lives in Hong Kong but was flying through London (he's a pilot) and we met for a few hours of reconnecting. This was the third time in my life meeting him. We had a lot of fun and a lot of wine... connected?  Anyway, nice to catch up!

Over the weekend I went visiting more family - my Mum's cousin Anne and her Husband Mike. They live down in Southampton near the coast. We spent the weekend driving around Hampshire, visiting lots of little villages. We went to the church where Florence Nightingale is burried, drove through an 'Area of Outstanding Beauty' (official title, but well earned), and poked around the shops of a small village called Selborne. On Sunday we drove down to Bornemouth via the New Forest and visited the Russell-Coates museum and gallery, which I must say was pretty insane - so well stocked!!!

Last night a group of interns celebrated one of their birthday's - we had drinks in Hyde Park and then dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. Tonight I'm having dinner with an acquaintence from home, and tomorrow night I'm meeting up with my new Kiwi friend to watch a movie!!

Very exciting will be this coming weekend - I'm catching a flight over to Jersey, one of the Chanel Islands between England and France. A friend from my law degree (met at Cambridge) lives on the island and invited me to come stay... so I'm leaving work a tad early to get out to Gatwick and will be MIA all weekend... I'm really looking forward to it as I've heard Jersey is really nice.

How is everyone at home? I hope well. Dunno if anyone is actually reading it... if you are, please end the radio silence because even though I'm having fun, it's nice to hear from home!! (begging much?!?!)

quick update

I'm sorry, I've been bad, I haven't updated in a while...

Nothing much to report actually.  Work is the same, with minor changes - after I got sick I decided I was going to be more firm with the hours I was willing to work, so am not staying quite as late as before in an effort to get more 'me' time. The work itself has also improved - more complicated stuff, some actual real legal research. all good stuff. 

On Monday 6 new interns joined the firm, making our total up to 12 now. A real mix bag still, all from various parts of the globe. I haven't interacted with them much, so can't really say too much about them.

Last weekend I went to Maidenhead to visit my Aunt and Uncle. Oh so nice! Didn't do a whole lot, which was just what I needed. Relaxed, slept in, watched some football, went on a country walk and a country drive through Ascot and Windsor, had an afternoon tea - all the good casual English stuff.

Have some exciting weekends on the horizon tho.. but I won't drop hints, I'll just say... stay tuned!

from Pall Mall to Park Lane

I am writing this from my new offices - the firm moved to new diggs on Park Lane, right next to the Dorchester Hotel, one of the most expensive in London. If I went and looked out the window, I'd see some Bentleys, Lambourghinis's... you know, that sort of thing. We are right across from Hyde Park, so I've gone to each my packed lunch there already. The new offices are really nice and fancy - all white and glass and modern, very posh.

Hrm, what have I been up to the past week or so? Well last week at work had some very late nights (post midnight) due to a brief submission. I got pretty run down with it all, and by Thursday knew I wasn't well. Fortunately due to the office move we Interns were given Friday off, so when I woke up feeling ill I didn't have to phone in sick!

But being the consumate tourist I am, I didn't let a little thing like a cold get in the way of seeing the countryside! On Friday I took a trip out to an old manor named Knole, which is in the heart of an ancient deer park, where the Kings used to go hunting. It was soooo lovely!! I really enjoyed it. The weather in London has also been fantastic recently - every day has been between 27 and 30, so there was some good 'bone warming' time in teh sunshine.

Saturday I joined up with other members of the Katherine Swynford Society for a walk around London looking at what remains of the 14th century. Not many (but some) of the buildings exist anymore, but we were still able to use our imagination, and I got to learn a few new areas of the city which, remarkably, I hadn't discovered yet. If you are interested, check out my Flickr site for photos, and if you are interested, look up Katherine and become as obsessed as me!

On Sunday my new friend Kathryn and I went on a journey up to Hatfield, where Elizabeth I was raised and later imprisioned. It is also where she found out she had become Queen, and she later gave the property to her Prime Minister - Lord Burley (Cecil), and it has remained in his direct line ever since. It has always been a dream of mine to see Hatfield and it really lived up to my expectations - it was fantastic! After our visit we stopped off at a local pub to watch the tragedy which was the England/Germany football match. I have a feeling the curse I have with hockey has transposed onto football, as I had a England jersey on me for the first time and they got thumped... so who should I go for and who should I officially support, as we move forward?!

No big plans for this coming week, other than to go to Trafalgar Square on Canada Day... I'd really like to get over the cold I've got - I lost my voice completely on Saturday and have sounded terrible ever since. I'm not sick enough to hit up a doctor, but am still sick enough to not feel great! Stupid foreign colds!!

hugs to all back home. hope you are well.

The Past Week

I've been trying to come up with some sort of exciting blog update for the past week, but I don't have much to say about it.

Work kept me late every day of the week, average again being 8pm, sometimes later. The work itself isn't too strenuous and it's not 'full on', because the work we do has to be reviewed before they send us more work, so there is down time as well. Still, working so much puts a real downer on the extra curricular activites (like running....) because it takes an hour to get home.  Ah well.

Interesting things:

On June 18 it was the 70th anniversary of Charles de Gaulle's French resistence speach, and because he'd set up his french resistance at my work offices, we had a visit from the President of France - Mr. Sarkozy and his supermodel wife Carla Bruni, and Prince Charles. The security for it was interesting - we weren't allowed out on our balcony but were able to open windows... After all the important people left us Interns were allowed downstairs and I took some photos of the boardrooms etc - I've had meetings in them already, but it felt cooler now that the people had been in them LOL!



On Saturday I went out to Newbury, in zone 4, to have a BBQ with the interns at one intern's home. It was pretty fun, all things considered... our grill was pretty epic:



My half-aunt Terri was back in town this weekend after a 2 week whirlwind tour of Europe, so I saw her both on Friday night out in Richmond, and then on Sunday.  That day we took a Thames River Cruise up to Greenwich and spent some fun hours in the market and sitting on the grass outside the Observatory, as well as getting the standard 'feet on each side of the meridian' photos.

This week my Firm is moving from Carlton Gardens to Park Lane, across from Hyde Park. I'm not sure how the week is going to be, work wise, as most of the office is getting packed up for the move. Next Monday I'll start a new commute!

Hopefully this weekend I can do some real tourist stuff! :) Hope all is well with everyone back home.

photos online

I've managed to post my photos (to date) up on Flickr, so enjoy if you've got some time.

I have a generic 'London' set, which will have every photo taken in it. It's manageable right now, but may get big as the summer goes.

To manage that, I'm going to set up 'special' sets for things I do to make it easier for the casual observer...  They will also be in 'better' order, as if I take any video, they don't mesh nicely with the 'sort by date taken' requests.

anyway, that's that. back to work.

A Royal Day Out and then a Royal Home

So this past Sunday was the Trooping of the Colours, part of the events recognizing the Queens birthday. I went down to the Mall to watch it all - wow was it super cool! I saw gazillions of marching bands, red-coats, all sorts of pagentry and 'britishness'.  Also got to see quite a few of the Royals!!! I saw the Queen, Prince Phillip, Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince William, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenies, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, and then probably some others that I don't know their name. It was AWESOME!!!  I also got to participate in that epic sceen from TV - the crowd spilling into the Mall, going down to the plaza infront of Buckingham Palace, and cheer when the Royal Family comes out on the balconey to wave and watch a royal fly over by the military.  Oh WOW was it cool!!!!

I also watched the USA v England football game at a pub near Kings Cross.... with a bunch of Americans... man was I playing with fire!!! But it was all good-hearted fun (probably because of how the game ended up...)

On Sunday I went out to Hever, the birthplace and home of Anne Boleyn and divorce settlement home of Anne of Cleaves, as well as the later home of the famous Astor Family.  The park land and house were just lovely!!! I definitely reccomend it, even though it took me 4 trains to get to it (not a regular tourist attraction from London, but lots of coach tours go there).

Otherwise London is treating me well. I'm starting to upload on to Flickr, so check there for photos if you wish.  I'm working most nights until 8pm, sometimes later. This week we've been told to clear both work and personal schedules as there is a major brief which needs filing. I think that means I'll be at work until midnight most nights, but nothing is confirmed yet. 

I hope everyone at home is well. Feel free to send me an email or whatever.. I also accept care packages!! heheheeheh!!!!

ok - some photos...

Princess Anne

Dutchess Camilla and Prince William

Princesses Eugiene and Beatrice and Prince Andrew

14.5 years later...

I haven't seen my half-aunt Terri since she was 13 and I was 14, when I went to South Africa (only time I've been back since coming to Canada)...

So here we are, in London, each having flown half way around the world, to meet up in a pub called the Bountiful Cow..... I'd come straight from work (left work at 8pm... the new London life).. and she'd just landed 3 hours earlier!

some pics

A few pic's from today - we had sunshine so I whipped out my 'purse' camera...

my desk at work:

me just outside my desk area

and a better view of what I look at while eating lunch...

first few days

Figured I should try be more on top of my blog this year, so here's my first go at it!

First few days have been pretty low key. Weather has been typical London stuff - grim, grey and wet. I look forward to some sunny days in the future, but right now it feels like the damp has just set in!

I did manage to stay awake upon arrival until 9:30pm, and followed that with a 12 hour sleep, which is crazy impressive for me! Yesterday I was a bit of a tourist, in a 'local' kind of way. First I went shopping on Oxford Street (hehehe) and bought a new mobile, some suit pants, and a few other household items only found on that street. I then went to the Tate Britain - I hadn't been in years and I must say I was very impressed. I'd recommend it for sure, if you get a few tube stops out of the 'main' tourist circle.

Today was my first day of work. Now, here's some googling for you - I'm at 4 Carlton Gardens. Look it up. You'll notice that I'm a stones throw from Buckingham Palace... on the Mall, across from St. James Park. It's CRAZY!!! From my office window I can see the Palace to my right, and straight ahead I can see Parliament (Big Ben) and Westminster Abbey, along with all sorts of other London sites... the only downer of it all is that I have to share my office with 8 other interns LOL!!!!!!  And, oh shucks, I have to walk through Trafalgar Square to get to my tube station (Charring Cross), or alternatively go up to Piccadilly Circus....

jealous yet? heheheheheh Don't worry, I'm totally appreciating every second of this!

Work itself hasn't been to strenuous so far. Not sure what's ahead, but right now I'm checking and finding citations for a text book one of the lawyers is writing. Kind of amusing seeing how often he is quoting himself from his other text books.... HA!

Anyway, that's all for now. Time for some microwave dinner and a look at the Tele... =P

I'm here!

Well I'm here, and it feels like I never left.. its kind of crazy how much of everything just feels like I was just here, not so long ago!  The flat is just the same as last year (with improved shower...) and Clapham South is the same and London seemed the same from the air!

Not much to report so far. The flight would have been fine but for the really whiny and smelly baby sitting next to me... getting to my flat on the tube was fine - much better having only checked one bag this year, for all the hassles it caused me at home.  Have unpacked and picked up some groceries to get me going for a few days.  I'm determined to stay up until around 9 tonight to try beat this jet-lag!

Tomorrow is a bank holiday in England, so I'll have the day to do whatever - kind of nice, all things considered. Then Tuesday is the start of the work I'm here to do!

Well if anyone care's to have info, feel free to email, otherwise stay tuned on here and I'll update as I find time!

Hugs!

DONE!!!!!!!!

Figured I'd update this seeing as I'm DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WWWWWOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and now I've got 1 week till London....

weeee!!!!!!!!!!

too soon

the countdown clock on my igoogle tells me I have 5 day, 4 hours and 40 minutes until my first exam.

I am no where near ready. UGH. Then it's 2 days until the next one, 3 days till the 3rd, and 2 days after that for the final one.

who needs sleep, right?!

The good news is, I've been accepted for an internship in London for the summer, so I'll be gone for June, July and August!  I'll be staying at the same place as last year, so I know what I'm getting into.  I leave 1 week after my last exam.

Ok, back to work. 

Routine

In case anyone is checking, a rather brief update: I am studying hard every day for approx 12 hours, sometimes more.  I try take time off at night, but that seems to be drying up recently, so I don't expect any 'fun' for another month or so. Actually, in 1 month I'll be done! Now to get through the next 4 weeks. Breathe.

Farwell Cambridge

My time at Cambridge is over. :(  I'm really quite sad, as I won't be back next year, even if the worst happens come exam time.  It has truly been an amazing experience being able to come and study here, being part of the atmosphere of such an historic place. Oh it's been fantastic.

This week has flown by. My 3 classes have each been quite helpful, atlhough I must admit the best was EU law - the teacher was phenomenal and the class notes will really help set things straight re Treaty of Lisbon.  It's been fun to reconnect with my friends from previous years, and make some new ones. I've spent time wandering the city, going into colleges, looking at the Cam, and even had a little R&R at some of the local night time watering holes.

Tomorrow I head down to Maidenhead to see my Aunt and Uncle, and then I fly home Sunday afternoon.  This trip has just flown by and I come home to the chaos of exams. I won't really exist for the next few months, but that's pretty normal for March, April and May it seems.

Thank you, Cambridge, you've been fantastic. I will miss you.

Glastonbury on the Solstice!!

Yesterday I hit up Buckfast Abbey (working monestary, cool church), Dartmouth Castle (everything about that place was awesome, the town is so pretty!), Cockington (wicked crafts village with mideval buildings all over the place) and Kents Caverns (oldest caves with human habitation going waaaay back).  It was a grim day again, weather wise, but a nice slower pace day to end the trip.

Today, March 21, was the spring solstice, and I got to be at Glastonbury, climbing the Tor!! How cool is that?! I went to the Abbey first which was very lovely and peaceful, and said hi to King Arthurs burrial sites (funny how within a 3 days span I visited his birth place and burrial site...). I saw the chalice well, where the holy grail is supposedly burried, and then climbed way up the Tor (ie Island of Avalon). It was all pretty awesome, and it was heightened by all the pagan/druid/alternative people around! 

I also visited Wells Cathderal and Cheddar Gorge today, both were very cool as well.

I'm now settled in my room at Cambridge. Over the past week I drove over 2000KM's and saw so much!! I still want to see more, so Devon and Cornwall will have to put up with me again in the future. Now that I'm here with more sturdy internet, I'll try upload photos to flickr, classes permitting.

Tintagel!

Yesterday I spent time in Exeter (awesome cathedral), Honiton (didn't find lace, but did find pottery), the Blackdown Hills (complete with Canadian memorial), Beer (picturesque) and Ottery St. Mary (a mini replica church of Exeter's cathedral). It was a slower paced day, but still really cool.

Today was the huge highlight - Tintagel Castle!!! I've wanted to go there since I was really small, and it's a true dream come true that I've finally been. It lived up, and surpassed my expectations, I was really pleased. Plus I was all alone at the site, so I really got to get into the magic of the place. Photos will be posted later. I also visited the port town of Bude, and a really cool Victorian mansion called Lanhydrock - I would totally recomend it to anyone in the area - even though it was expensive, it was worth it!

So that's the super quick update for now! :)

Dartmoor and West Cornwall

Dartmoor
Saw: Holne, Hound Tor, Castle Drogo, Fingle Bridge, Okehampton Castle, Lydford Castle & Church, the road to Merrivale, Buckland Abby. Favourites = Hound Tor and Buckland Abby. The moor is just beautiful, peaceful, remote and impossible to drive with any sense of direction. One way streets, but they're actually two way streets, so having an SUV is great, sometimes, but terrible other times. 

West Cornwall
Saw: Penzance (arr), Lands End, Ballowall Burrow, Levant Mine, scenic drive to St. Ives, St. Ives, St. Michaels Mount (from distance), LONG drives (2.5 hours each way to get to West Cornwall). Best was being at Lands End (ignoring the junk in the area), and then the lovely drive to St. Ives - so beautiful! I waved to Canada - the closest I'll ever be to it, while in England.

I'll try post some photos next week when I have better internet access.  I'll also try describe things better, but I'm tired and lazy and sleeping.

Dorset Day

Today my adventure involved picking up my rental car (now an SUV ack!) from Heathrow and making my way down to Torquay, in Devon, with some tourism in between.

As I drove through Wiltshire I stumbled upon an old friend - Stonehenge! I didn't realize I was in the area until I was driving past it. I gave it a big wave!

Then came Sherborne, where I saw an old Castle, which was built on top of an Iron Age fort, as well as the 'new' castle, build by Sir Walter Raleigh back in Lizzy 1's day.

On the way to Dorchester I saw the Cerne Abbas giant - google him, he's a little xxx...  Then I climbed up Maiden Castle, a HUGE Iron Age fort, I can't describe how big, but you could easily land a plane on it.

The disapointment of the day was Nine Stones, which, remarkably, was 9 stones in a circle, next to the road, with a chopped down tree in the middle. Most exciting part was the wickan praying to/at the tree and giving me 'frustrated tranquility' looks while I snapped photos.

Had a look at the Abby ruins and St. Catherines Chapel at Abbotsbury, and then drove along the Jurassic Coast for while - the south coast is beautiful!!!  Then hit the motorway through Exeter and eventually arrived in Torquay.  My hotel is fantastic, very welcoming and homelike, I'd really reccomend it (the Aveland Hotel, Torquay).

I walked around town for a late dinner, and now I'm researching tomorrow adventure in Dartmoor. Hope all is well at home!

I came, I studied, I eventually slept...

Day 1 - it was a 32 hour day, involving 2 flights, 8 hours of school and 3 cups of caffiene tea. But, I'm here, I've been mildly educated and after a long day, I eventually pulled a 10 hour sleep!

Arriving in London has felt, in many ways, like arriving at home. This is my second city, I know it really well, and as I was living here just last July and August, it doesn't really feel like I've been gone that long.

School was interesting and made me wish I had more in person instruction in general, as one of the professors was absolutely fantastic. I hope my class today is as exciting.

Tomorrow I pick up my rental car at Heathrow and start my journey to Devon/Cornwall. I'm very excited about the trip, it's been a dream of mine for ages. I'll try keep this updated with my impressions, and depending on the internet there, will also post photos. Worst case, I'll update these posts with photos when I'm settled at Cambridge next week.

For now, London awaits.

time's run out

sigh.

Well, not quite sigh. There's still hope.

I leave in just over a week. I have more than a weeks worth of work to do, but I've got a plan to get the bare bones of it done before I get on the plane. Hopefully that is enough.

I wouldn't trade my Olympic experience for anything, so I shall accept the consequences of all this in May.

For one more time "GO CANADA GO!!!"

first countdown

Being sick has set me back a lot, and I leave in 27 days. Accounting for Olympic events I'm attending, I have about 22 workable days (not counting watching TV events). I have AT LEAST 20 full days of work to do, probably being overly optimistic about how much work I can get done in a day...

Somehow I'll have to make it work. The sad part is that I'd like to really enjoy the Olympic being in town - go see pavillions, enjoy the atmosphere. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity that I don't want to miss.

I'll just have to be uber efficient with my time and try knock my 'work days' down a few to get in some Olympic days. I'll be getting up earlier and staying up later and I'll just make it work. ROAR!

(I have no idea if I'll make it work, but I have faith in myself, I can do it.)

Then I'll just have to rally again when I'm back from Cambridge for the final massive sprint to the exams in May.

setback

ugh, so for the past week or so I've had a nasty sinus infection/cold which has set me back quite a bit. Not fun! I'm still not over it but I I'm slowly on the mend? I sure hope so.  The most irritating part is that I get really bad headaches with it, if I concentrate too hard on something. So, like, law, well, that requires some concentration... hence the set-back. 

I'm also anticipating some set backs over the next few weeks, with the 2010 Olympics being in town. I'm a big fan so will be trying to participate as much as is possible. I really hope I manage to balance everything, as I leave for England shortly after the Olympics leave us!!! ahhh!!!

anyway, feel free to send positive 'get well' energy in my direction - I don't get sick often (once every few years) so I'm a total wimp when it happens.

Still at it

Still slogging through the mush of work.  Have had some unhappy moments recently, like discovering the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon, which totally effects my studies of EU law (ie changes the entire thing)...  and am re-reading a lot of my Jurisprudence stuff on the side, in addition to the regular readings, in hopes that the second review might make some of it logical???

Otherwise not much to report. Life is pretty much the same every day, with the odd fun break of seeing my niece and nephew, or friends, or watching a movie or something.

I have to get everything finished by the first 10 days of March as then I head over to England for my boot-camp. Yikes, thats not as far away to me as it is to most people!

Expensive 24 hours

So the last 24 hour or so have been expensive simply because I applied for a bunch of things all at once!

So I have signed up for:

1. U of London weekend course next March (taking classes the day I land, that should be fun...)
   
2. A week's accommodation in Devon/Cornwall (this part IS fun...)
   
3. Cambridge LLB revision week, also next March (after the week of touristing)
   
4. EXAMS!!! This year they are all happening in a 2 week span, the middle two weeks of May.

AHHH!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say, a fire has suddenly been lit under me. And it's a hot one. So much for the 'holiday season'.... too much work to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, still not much!

What to report... well my nice and nephew are 3 days away from being 3 months old... the snow is falling outside my office window right now... I've been reconnecting with some old friends and making new ones... I've joined up with a yoga studio and am taking 5 or 6 classes a week (2 per time).

Oh.. you want to know about school?? Hrm..

Well I'm trudging along with it. It's more difficult this year, as I've already said. Hard to explain. Bascially I procrastinate, then freak out and dive in head first. I duno.

I've got Cambridge in March, and I always get all my studies done before then, so the schedule is set. I'm actually doing a pretty good job sticking to the schedule, but yet, sometimes I cheat and don't read some things which I should.. but isn't that always the case at uni??

Anyway, there's my update for now. I'll try be more regular, perhaps throwing in the odd tidbit from my studies. Right now I'm not a fan of any of my courses!

Not much to report

Not much to report over the past month, study wise.  Well, that's not true: I'm getting very good at wasting time and procrastinating, and not very good at understanding the in's and out's of Jurisprudence, EU, Company and Evidence law...

So far Company and Evidence are pretty straight forward. EU will probably become that way once I get my head around all the different Councils, Commissions, Parlaiments and such... too many bureaucrats! The big toughy for me is Jurisprudence and all those annoying philosophers. yuck.

ah well, I'll keep at it as always. Otherwise I'm cooking about once a week, more if I can fit it in, and just being 'me' as much as I can. Hope everyone else is too! :)

3rd year starters

It's been hard starting school this year. It's hard to switch from the summer fun and September ups and downs to a focused and scheduled life. There have been some huge changes and I'm slowly adjusting.

So I haven't had much success yet with getting into my routine, but I'm working on it. All of my classes seem to have 50% more work than last year. I think I'll have an average of about 1000 pages of reading a week.  I guess it's good I'll have extra time on my hands now? yikes! and sigh.

On a side note, I've started another blog to document my escapades in cooking - I've decided that there is no time like the present to start learning, and I've got some guinea pigs at home willing to suffer the consequences of me wearing the chef's hat! So the link is on the side...

London sends its regards...

09/09/09

Today is a mathematically awesome day.

9's are cool.

so is my birthday!

I decided to be extra corny and stay in bed until 9am (yes, as a student, I can accomplish this)...

And whilst I have lots I could be doing today (like tidying up a massive mess I made by emptying the attic of 28 years of 'treasures')... I think I shall do NOTHING!!

Hope today is treating everyone else well too!

random musings

Well it's now 2 sleeps until I fly home. 2 sleeps after 2 months... went so fast.

Change is in the air in London. Granted July was very cold and grim, but 2 weeks of August have been nice weather. Today, suddenly, the rain is back, and its quite chilly and cold.

The changes are elsewhere too - it's the last long weekend for the UK until Christmas and people are heading out of town. There's a sense of impatience, of 'last chance for summer'. Little changes have occured - all the double-decker bus advertisments have changed from displaying summer movies to fall ones. The stores have suddenly changed to fall clothing. I don't know. Maybe I'm looking for it, but I definitely feel that summer, here, is over, and it's time to move along...

My last week here has been strange. I met up with a close family friend on Monday after work for drinks - hadn't seen him in about 2 years so it was a nice time to chat. Tuesday was my real 'busy' day as I met up with Lars and Patricia for the last time in London (Team 2 for 1!)... and later I met up with my landlady and she took me on a tour of London by night. The super cool thing there was being allowed backstage at Covent Garden, a dancer's dream!

Wednesday was my first attempt at packing. GROAN! I've bought too much and have no space!! I think I'll be wearing 10 layers to get everything in... well, maybe not that bad, but I fully expect an 'overweight' charge on my bags.

My other plans for this week fell through, so I've been pretty low-key, just chilling and getting ready for being at home. My internet at my flat is down to my last £0.25, so I'm pretty silent.. this will be the last blog entry until I'm back home again.

Once I've settled at home I intend on chosing a few select photos to add to my blog, and the rest will go up on Flickr.

Until then, well, pip pip, jolley good show and all that...
AKA
Toodles!

and in other news...

I PASSED!!!! (my 2nd year law exams)

Horrah!! Farewell to the horrors of second year, welcome to the chaos of my final year of the UK LLB....

What a relief.

winding down

Since my last entry I’ve been based in a different part of London – Oxford Street. This is a must-see place for tourists, so as you can imagine, its busier than Metrotown on Boxing Week. And.. you can imagine how much this frustrates me! Arugh!! I’m getting good at the side-streets!

Last week my cousin Perdi was in town for a few days so I was playing tour-guide! It was quite fun getting back into the tourist mode in the City, while at the same time knowing my way around way better than ever before – no maps required and hours upon hours of walking! I felt a little bad with how much walking I made her do straight off the flight, but whatever, you’re only here while you’re here!! She got the grand tour of London, some yummy food and drinks at a pub – standard!

This past weekend I was down visiting family who live in Southampton, right on the south coast of England. It was a far slower pace weekend than most of my others have been but still a nice time. We spent Saturday in the ‘New Forest’ which is a chunk of land King John designated as ‘protected’ (ie for him) back in the 1200’s – which means some pretty big trees and untouched scenery. We were driving around looking at Art galleries an exhibitions – the one family member I was visiting is a fantastic artist so we were sussing out her competition! Sunday we visited a cool roman site called Fishbourne and then bumbled around the edges of Portsmouth were there is loads of water traffic to ogle at.

It’s now my last week in London and I’m amazed at how time has flown by. I feel I haven’t even scraped the surface over here, let alone started to use the location for Europe jumping – I had too many people to see and places and such to even consider the other side of the Channel!. Perhaps I’ll come back next summer and do more? We’ll see. I will admit, I’m starting to look forward to the comforts of home.

This final week is stacking up to be pretty busy – have quite a few dinner/drinks lined up as well as a trip to Betty Windsor’s abode (Buckingham Palace)… and somewhere in there I have to pack up 2 months worth of junk into my suitcases! Not gonna be fun!

whoops! long time, no blog!

sorry! I've been busy and forgot to update!

Work has been work, random amounts of interesting material mixed with mundane whatever stuff. Regardless of interest, it's all valuable experience.

The fun stuff, of course, has been touristing on the weekends.

So I spent a weekend in Kent. One one day I met up with a co-worker who lives out in Rochester and she drove me around there, as well as took me to Leeds Castle (WOW!!!) and dropped me in Canterbury to visit that myself. So yes, Leeds was beautifully situated, so cool! Canterbury has always been on my lists of places to visit. I think that had I not been to so many of the worlds amazing cathedrals this year I would have been more impressed but alas. I was definitely able to put myself into the 'wow cool' headspace, but it wasn't as awe-inspiring as others have been. It was cool to see where Beckett was taken-out, as well as the tombs of HenryIV and the Black Prince.

I have also been down to Dover Castle now - another dream of mine to see. It was so awesome to be back at the sea, I didn't realize how much I missed the salty air. I spent the entire day in the castle, exploring tunnels and keeps and climbing mounds, all very cool stuff!

This past week had more interesting stuff to report on as I went to two shows! I met up with my old friend Lars and we went to see Avenue Q, and then later in the week I went to see Pricilla, Queen of the Desert (look them both up online if you are interested).

Friday night some co-workers and I went out for some drinks - it was so strange to be at a bar and seeing people in suits dancing around.. such a different scene to home (I think, I don't really get out much)...

This past weekend I was closer to home. On Saturday I met up with Lars again and went to the Tower of London. I'd been before but he hadn't, so we totally explored all over. It was a nice day. That night I went to a party one of the lawyers at work was hosting... such a different kind of house party, and those who know my lack of small talking abilities would have been proud of me!!

Yesterday I journeyed out to Brighton, a big beach party town. I'm glad I've been but I doubt I'll go back. The coolest thing was the Brighton Pavillion - google it.

So now I continue on getting experience and trying to be a tourist. My little cousin Perdi shows up for a few nights tomorrow so that should be loads of fun. I'll try update again soon!!

Further Adventures

Last week had a lot more going on for me, work wise. This is a good thing – I’d much rather be busy and learning material than sitting trying to find interesting news stories on the BBC! That being said, some of my research has been quite grim – one lawyer has me researching the proper ways to secure permission to burry someone in a field… ahem.

I did managed to finally see Harry Potter last week and despite all the missing plot points, I quite enjoyed it. It was also quite fun to see it in London, especially the opening scene where the Millenium foot bridge is destroyed – I often walk onto/across that on my lunchtime break!

Last Thursday night I finally got a real ‘introduction’ to the business world in London – a number of the lawyers here took me out for a drink. Or two. Or 6. Ahem. It was a nice place we went and I had a pretty good time, picking peoples brains and just relaxing. I must say, there were a few hung-over people the next morning (I’m good at keeping my glass looking full, stopping the top-ups).

I went down to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Maidenhead (near Heathrow) for the weekend and it was very nice to see some familiar faces. Saturday took us to a rainy Oxford where it happened to be graduation day. I didn’t get to explore too much as most of the town was closed, but I did go into Christ Church, their big famous one… It’s where Alice in Wonderland was written and set, and also known for it’s hall and staircases as seen in Harry Potter..

Sunday took us on a traditional English road-trip, up to the Cotswolds. Now this is only a 2 hour drive from London, but the reactions I’ve got from co-workers (many who have never been) make it seem like it was a few days drive away. It’s a lovely scenic area of rolling hills, sheep and very old but really cute cottages. Anyone looking for some random English driving and quaint towns should hit up the Cotswolds.

This week doesn’t seem to hold much excitement for me, so therefore I must try make my own. I’m having dinner with my Land-lady tonight, drinks with one of Guy’s friends on Wednesday, and will try go to a show or something if cheap tickets exist. This coming weekend shall take me to Kent and Dover. Watch for updates later!

not half way yet...

Well last week had some really dull days, and then some really busy ones. By the end of the week I had 3 projects on the go! I was thrilled when work was over on Friday as I needed a break.

Of course, it being me, I didn't exactly have a 'break'. I caught a train into Essex/ Suffolk and was a tourist all weekend! I stayed with my mum's old school friends who graciously drove me around all day Saturday and Sunday. I visited Colchester (first city in the UK), Dedham (location of John Constables famous paintings), Billericay (English Peasents Revolt), Sutton Hoo (Anglo-Saxon burial mounds), Framlingham (castle of the Howards), Bury St. Edmunds (ruins of a HUGE abbey/shrine), Lavenham (awesome little town of crooked houses).... loads of driving on little English roads and probably up to 10 miles of walking, all combined.

The weather even held out for me, it was quite warm! Of course now I'm back in London with the usual temperamental stuff.

Not sure what the week ahead holds for me, but hopefully it's going to be good!

me again

Well I think I'm fairly well settled in now - some of the days are feeling like 'the daily grind', which is a good thing? I am still thrilled to be here - there is something amazing about walking past St. Paul's Cathedral every morning on my way to work: it's kind of surreal!

I've been puttering around at work on a number of different projects, all of which are fairly straight forward but take time. It's all fascinating stuff and has shown this trip to be really worth every penny I'm spending. Hopefully the interesting work will continue!

In my time off I've been doing a variety of things. I was quite busy last week seeing tourist stuff in the evenings, or meeting people for dinner. I hope this continues! This past weekend I went up to the historic town of St. Albans (roman, anglo-saxon and norman histories) which was a lovely day out, and then took a 4 hour cruise down the Thames to Hampton Court, where I explored and saw Henry VIII (the actor was the spitting image!).

The frustrating thing about my trip is the hours - I work until 5:30 every day, and with the crush of people, I often only get home between 6:30 and 7pm. All tourist sites are closed at 5, so my weeknights are devoted to either seeing people or, more frequently, going home, making a microwave dinner and reading my books or watching BBC.

I'm starting to make some connections here, though it's a slow process. I've discovered an old friend of mine is living in the city, so hope to meet up with him in the coming days/weeks. Otherwise I'll continue to use my weekends thoroughly! This coming weekend I plan to go up to the Colchester area, where the artist Constable did much of his work. It's apparently a lovely area.

Alright, off again!

Epic work!

Wow, this week has been full of 'epic work'. well, one day at least. When I got to work on Monday I was put on a team working on a crazy important submission to the US Securities and Exchange Commission - a HUGE deal and I was a key player in making it happen. Well, I was at least very helpful - I was the 'fresh eyes' on a number of documents and liaised with the publisher on all the edits and nit-picky stuff. It was a really interesting process and gave me a lot of insite... the 'epic' part was the fact that on Wednesday I worked from 9:30am until 4:00am... and was back at work the next morning at 9:30. It was intense.

Otherwise I'm still keeping happy and enjoying myself. The past weekend I explore Hampstead Heath, went out to see where my grandfather was born in Eltham, and went to the National Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum - all was well worth the visits.

This weekend I plan to see St. Albans (an historic town) and take a Thames river cruise out to Hampton Court.. I just hope the weather is nice to me. Right now there's thunder and Vancouver-style rain. sigh.

Hope everyone is well. Please feel free to email - it's nice to hear from home!

The First Week

I survived it! Horrah!

After a few days if induction meetings they threw me in the deep end, giving me a massive research project on topics I have yet to study at school. I bought a text book guide to try learn quickly, and did as best a job I could. The lawyers seemed happy enough with the results, but I don't know if the big cheese liked it - that will come Monday.

It's been strange being a London commuter, especially with work ending at 530. I'm starting to get used to getting home late and eating dinner even later... I don't like it, but that's what it is.

I haven't done anything too touristy yet as it all closes at 5pm. Today I plan to go to Hampstead Heath, a big park and village within the city, and then maybe just hit down town again. Tomorrow is open for now.

Well I hope all is well with everyone. I'm mostly alright, though I do get lonely at times. Hugs to everyone.

Getting Here & First Day

It was a tiny bit stressful getting here due to all potential flight mishaps, but in the end it worked out alright. My flight was delayed leaving Vancouver but made up time in the air. The plane gods were smiling on me in Newark as my connecting flight turned out to be in the gate right next to where I landed. And my bags made it to Heathrow with me! Best outcome!

One cool thing about my journey: I got to see hundreds of American 4th of July Fireworks display’s from the air. It was so cool seeing all the twinkling – not often you see fireworks from above!

My place here in London seems like it’ll be good – I have a fridge, microwave, hot-plate and some tools to use with them. There are 3 grocery stores within a minutes walk, as is the underground and a huge park. My Landlady seems like a lovely lady – an ex-professional ballet dancer no less!

My first day at work was a bit overwhelming but overall pretty good. Met loads of people and had a bunch of training, all of which will continue tomorrow. The office is located near St. Paul’s Cathedral, so I’ll probably pop into it for lunch one of these days. I’ll slowly explore the area over lunches and shall report back my findings. I did pick up a mobile phone and an internet dongle, so I’ll be more connected than at first thought.

Anyway, I’ll keep you posted as things happen!

packing the bags

Well I'm packing up my bags and looking at a journey beginning on July 4th... The first hurdle is getting all the clothes I need for work and play into a suitcase that I can still lift and carry! The next hurdle is crossing my fingers and hoping that my 30 min connection is enough to switch planes at Newark... Then I have to hope my bags arrive... and that I can navigate the London Underground out to Clapham South!!

after that, no worries!

I'm starting to get excited. It's going to be a real adventure, away from everything, striking out on my own and finding out who I am, in London. I know I'll miss home, but hopefully I'll be too distracted by work and play to be homesick.

I don't know what my internet situation is going to be like, so I won't be posting as frequently as other trips. But I'll save up stories and post them all at once, so perhaps that's better?

Well, until I'm there, toodles!

done

well, they're over. and hopefully so is one of the hardest sets of weeks I've been through.


the strange thing is, rather than being happy, I feel so drained and exhausted: it's almost a sense of failure or let-down.


I'm sure I'll feel better after some sleep.

about turn

ok, 3 down. none were fantastic, some were awful.

Now the 4th.. and I have to suddenly change pace completely, turn my brain around and revert to an old life: my 4th exam is a history exam.

yup, I've got 5.5 days to learn 1000 years of legal history. ugh. my work so far has been frustrating as there aren't cases to learn (well, not as many as normal) - it's back to the names, dates and places... and it's been 6 years since I used my history muscles..

anyway, I take solace in the fact that this time next week I'll be done. And in a month I'll be off to England.

status = 50%

50% done.

one ok, one so so... now 2 to go.

I'm tired.

tomorrow, tomorrow...

yep. first one is tomorrow.

wait, why am I on here......??????? books!! notes!! help!!!!!!!!!

in the final days

Exams come as follows: Tort - May 20, Trust - 27, Land - June 2, and History of English Law- 9th.

I have been wondering why I've been less stressed this year, and this past weekend I discovered why: all the stress had been waiting on the sidelines and decided to slam into me at once. Call it a new stress tactic? Hrm. Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to get a grips on it all and get back to hard slogging asap. First exam is just over a week away and none of the material has peculated into my brain. Don't worry, it'll happen. right?

A small reprieve this weekend was our mother's day celebration. As I'm still trying to slowly upload Europe to flickr, I thought I'd put these up here for those who look at this site. They'll go up on Flickr in due time.

The tea setup

the grand Mother

The Mum's

moment of cute.

Three Generations of fun.

Me and my Gran

Much Loved.

The Mom.

where did he get his height?!

Olive and Violet

Master Scone Chef's.

Oh My! It's May!!!

20 days until my first exam.

still plodding

pretty standard routine going on now days - wake up, eat cheerios, shower, check email, study... sleep again.

It's pretty repetitive. I'm not too pleased about it. Plus it's been beautifully sunny recently and all the cherry blossoms are out teasing me. I would love to be carefree, running around taking photographs, going on spring flower exploration walks and generally enjoying life. Instead I'm stuck in my office reading about how to remove trustees from trusts or what the difference is between hitting a person, criminally, and hitting a person, civilly. Ugh.

So yes, in general I'm a tad bitter right now. I know I'm stressed and that's never fun. I've got a month (today) until my first exam and that is not enough time to learn all the material properly. But I guess no one ever does learn the material properly do they? Well, not in one year at least. And law, annoyingly, is never permanent. I was just reading the 'recent development's' bulletin my school provides, and whaddya know, one whole unit I've been trying to memorize is no longer relevant, instead there's a whole new policy!

yes. well. anyway. moving on.

If anyone out there is still following my blog, I wish you well and hope your life is full with cherry blossoms and spring breezes, wherever you may be. Think of me with my books, and send good throughts my way come May 20, 27, June 2 and 9th.

back to the books.

time travel

it's snowing at home. so that means it's january right? if so, cool, I've got loads of time!!

getting over jet-lag is horrible. The super early mornings are the worst - I hope that in a day or two I'll finally be over it.

I've set up a study schedule that is reasonable, provided I stick with it. I feel exhausted already!

I'm still working on uploading photos, a city at a time. I hope it won't take forever, but study does come first!

Toodles.

Last day - time has flown!

I can't believe today is the last day of lectures. This week has flown by and unfortunately doesn't feel like enough was accomplished or covered.

The lectures have been good, for the most part, and I've got a better idea of the material for some of my classes. Now I just have to go and memorize it all and hope that I can pass the exams this May and June!

Today I have 5 hours of classes, and then I'll go into town to say 'bye' before packing up my room and possibly meeting some friends at the pub for a farewell drink. Tomorrow I head back down to London (Maidenhead), and Sunday I spend the day flying home!

This has certainly been a fun 3 weeks, although my Europe trip feels a long time ago already, and Cambridge feels a bit like I've already been home for a week (due to school)... I'm sure when I do get home things will feel even more strange!

Ah well, off to breakfast and class. If I don't get a chance before, I'll update again when home!

toodles.

Student Life

I have to say I'd forgotten how much work it takes to sit in class and try absorb and take notes from a lecturer. I'm now used to going my own pace with school (a pretty hard pace, but not like lectures)... I'm exhausted!

Unlike last year, where I instantly dove into the depths of despair due to the feelings of inadequacy, this year it's been a slow climb up the mountain of terror. I've left base camp 1, but not yet at base camp 2. The summit is a while away.

To better describe it, I'm kind of numb. I love being here, learning from the Cambridge law faculty professors - its an incredible experience. I recognize all the topics we're discussing but don't know any of the details (which is what made me panic last year). I think this time I'm aware of how hard I'm going to have to work the next few months, so am better prepared?? or maybe I was knocked down so many pegs last time that I didn't get worked up this time? Who knows.

Due to Cambridge not offering a class on my History subject, I am only in lectures for 3 of my 4 classes this time. The professors for each are excellent, but for different reasons. Trusts and Land are going very well with the format and information - which is good because those are my weakest. Tort is another story: the professor is young and new and uncomfortable, and is spending far too much time waffling than educating us. But I am learning a bit here and there, and he's talking a lot about recent cases (ie in the past year), so if I can quote some of those on the exams I'm sure the examiners will be pleased.

I've made a few friends here (despite my best solitary efforts LOL (JK)). One is a South African girl, then 2 ladies from Jersey Island (Channel Island), an Auzzie who lives in London, and a New Yorker. The group is much smaller than last year - there are less than 30 in my classes this time, when there were at least 60 last year. I prefer the smaller group.

I haven't had much of a chance to re-explore the town, but may have some time tomorrow on my lunch break. I'll be holed up in the library for most of the day though.

Otherwise not much to report. My europe trip already feels miles away. Cambridge, as strange as it sounds, reminds me of home so much that it actually feels like I am at home. In many ways last year and this year have meshed together already - eating in the dining hall feels quite normal. I suppose that's a good thing.

In my free time (when not sleeping or being stuffed with too much food) I am trying to load Europe photos on Flickr. Its a slow process (due to culling down the thousands), but I hope to get a big chunk up this week.

Alright, bye for now!

Goodbye Holiday, Hello School.

Well I'm now in Cambridge, settled in at Selwyn College and starting my week of boot-camp tomorrow.

Since I last wrote:

Amsterdam - we saw as much as we could in the day we were there, but didn't find it nearly as interesting as other cities. Granted I'd been there before, but even fresh-eyed Owen didn't like it as much. The buildings and cannals are really cool, but the atmosphere is very different. Plus I hated driving in the city, the bikes and trams and people make it a nightmare.

Delft - I love that town. It was market day, which made it crazy busy, but its a quite pretty place with some cool buildings. A nice change from A-Dam.

Brugges - LOVED. Totally loved. Would reccomend for anyone to go there. Really cool buildings, really nice people, awesome chocolate, lace, cannals, etc. Can't say enough, super cool place to go.

We then drove back down to Paris for a night, narrowly missing the protest which were 3million strong (thanks to some text's from mom!). Low key night of repacking etc.

Windsor/Maidenhead - visited my Aunt and Uncle who live near Windsor in England. Explore the castle and wandered the town, then had a nice family visit. Good way to end the trip.

Owen went home today (I think he's landing in about 2 hours). He's been an excellent travelling companion and I miss his company already. Hopefully he re-adjusts to 'normal' life quickly!

I made my journey up to Cambridge - via car, tube, bus, and taxi. I'm settled in at Selwyn College and all my classes start up tomorrow. Hopefully I can focus on the positive while I'm here and not get too stressed. The view from my window is cool.

Bye for now!

France, Switzerland and Germany

Ya, so not much internet between Dijon and here! And not much time here to post much.

Dijon: cute little town, explored a number of churches and the local market, bought some Burgundy wine. All in all a nice spot to stop in.

Mullhouse: Unexpectedly lovely town. Town hall is very proud of its roots, has a really cool museum, and we ate some churro's!

Switzerland - we went into Basel and were once again really surprised - it was a lovely little town with some interesting architecture, some nice history, and a cool river. Great intro to Switz.

Zurich: we were there to a) see the city and b) meet up with my friend Reesa. "A" worked, but "B" didn't. We walked around the town and went into some churches and generally got a feeling for the place, but didn't have a lot of time.

Karlsruhe: To get here we had to drive alongside the Black Forest (a la Cake) for about 2.5 hours. Yup, big green trees. But it was really pretty, especially thinking back about it now! We got to Karlsruhe quite late, so didn't get to see much until the next morning: big palace, big german town layout.

Koblenz: On the way to Koblenz we stopped at Maulbronn, a UNESCO protected monestary, then Heidelburg, an awesome german castle, and finally Worms, a cute little german town along the Rhine. Koblenz itself is at the confluence of the Mosel and Rhine rivers - very cool location, not much space to build!! We explored the town and visited some old churches.

Rhine Valley: Drove sections of both the Mosel and Rhine Valley's, both of which have wicked castles on the land above and amazing little villages along the river. We loved this part and definitely want to come back.

Cologne (Koln): AWESOME Cathedral. Big dream of mine fulfiled. We spent all our time here exploring the Cathedral - we'll have to visit the other 20 churches some other time.

We are now in Amsterdam. We visited Utrecht on our way up - such a sweet little town. Amsterdam is its usual self, but a total nightmare for driving because of all the bike riders. Ugh.

Ok, that's it for now!! bye!!

London, Paris and such (March 6 - 12)

Bon Soir from Dijon, France!! We have been having a fantastic time, have accomplished so much and are pretty much exhausted - which is the way to be when you're travelling, in my opinion! =P

I don't have much time, so I'm going to list what we've accomplished so far!

London = A big walk including: Oxford St, Marble Arch, Hyde Park, Green Park, Buckingham Palace, the Mall, Admiralty Arch, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery (visited), Whitehall, Banqueting House, Westminister & Big Ben, Westminster Abby (tried to visit but as was Sunday, closed), Thames, Tate Modern (visited), Globe, Millenium Bridge (walked on), Tower Bridge (saw), St Pauls (visited), Fleet Street, Inns of Court, Temple Church (visited), Aldwych, Bloomsbury, British Museum (visited), British Library, St. Pancras.

Eurostar train through the Channel Tunnel.

Paris = 3 days, visited: Sacre Coeur (climbed), Monmatre, Dali museum, Monmatre Cemetary, Isle de la Cite - Notre Dame (night and day visits, multiple times), Saint Chapelle, Notre Dame Tower, Notre Dame crypt, Catacombs of Paris, St. Sulpice, Musee D'Orsey, Louvre, Champs Elysees, Arch de Triomphe (climbed), Eiffel Tower (climbed), Latin Quarter, Sorbonne (saw police reponse to student protest), Pantheon (closed), Seine River cruise by night.

Versailles & Gardens.

Have now driven from Versailles to Dijon, and it looks like a fantastic city and we can't wait to explore it tomorrow!

Other tid-bits of the trip:
We are surviving on bigger breakfasts, no lunch and minimal dinners. This seems strange to most, but it works for us.
We are quite tired from all our walking (hopefully this is understandable), but we want to get as much as we can out of this experience, so we're not being lazy!
My knee has once again lost it's battle with Paris. This is my third time to Paris, and every time I visit the city my right knee is destroyed. No idea why, but it's not exactly fun.
Driving over here is crazy, but it certainly keeps you on your feet. Owen is my navigator, with the help of my GPS unit.

Well, not sure when the next internet will be, but know that we're having fun and taking a million photos!!!

Bags Packed, Ticket in Hand.. waiting..

The worst part about going on a trip is the 24 hours before leaving... at least for me. My bags are packed, I'm all organized, prepped and ready.. and now I have to kill time!

I've gone through every unit of my 4 subjects, so in that sense I'm prepared. I know that as soon as I get to Cambridge I'll start getting very worried.. I mean, who remembers what they read in October in great detail?! But that's why I'm going - go through some bootcamp to prepare myself for the hard exam-prep slog ahead.

Anyway... have 2 fun filled weeks ahead of me. I am very excited; this is going to be such an interesting journey! I'll post as frequently as I find internet, and will definitely post excerpts from my trip diary when I've got the net at Cambridge. Photos will go up whenever possible.

Now to go kill time....

U of Ork temporary relocations...

So the European Whirlwind Extravaganza begins in 2.5 weeks (March 6). Am starting to get both excited and nervous, because its going to be full of awesomeness, but also a pretty big endeavour! I know we'll have loads of fun... and yes, whenever the internet is available, I'll post updates as we go.

but I can now also announce that U of Ork is going to temporarily relocate to London for July and August 2009. I've got some work placements in the city (unpaid), so am off to start getting real work experience for my career. I've got space in Clapham South which is self-catered - CS is in South London, about 20 min from the offices I'll be working at. Should be a very fun experience, and provided I have access to internet (unconfirmed to date), I shouldn't get homesick... esp if I have my camera!

More details to follow as I get them... the most important being the work visa!

So:
step 1 = 2 weeks exploring europe
step 2 = 1 week at Cambridge scaring myself for exams
step 3 = study for and survive exams
step 4 = move to London for the summer!

Fun times ahead (50%).. hehehe

3 weeks to finish 5 weeks worth...

Owen and I leave for a European driving adventure on March 6th. I need to finish all my studies before then, as after Owen goes home, I head up to Cambridge for a week of boot-camp. Recent developments at home, socially, mean I'm a bit behind on school... so the head is getting tucked down so I can be ready for fun!

Our trip = London, Paris, Dijon, Mulhouse, Karlsruhe, Koblenz, Cologne, Amsterdam, Bruges, Paris, London, Home (Owen), Cambridge (Lauren), Home. We are renting a car outside Paris, so the majority of the trip will be me driving around like a maniac!

Fun ahead, but must earn it!

Mini-Break

U of Ork has taken a 1 week mini-break to visit the island of Maui. Administrative reps demanded the sole U of Ork student to take a break to recharge for the coming months.




Photos of this onerous time off can be found on flickr. Examples are as follows.

U of Ork will return to action on Jan 26, 2009.

2 month countdown...

2 months to get more than 2 months work done. call me Thomas?

no more excuses, no more laziness, no more procrastination...

rwar!!!

One chapter closed...

So today I finally officially graduated from Royal Roads University with my Bachelor of Arts in Justice Studies...

It felt strange - part of me was kind of 'meh' about it, but the other part was pretty excited! The day was soaking wet - a true BC special - which made the logistics a bit of a nightmare. But the ceremony was decent and I got to walk across a stage with a mortar board on my head, purple hood on my gown, and a tassle which switched from right to left.

The B-Jus was a pretty long and arduous process with papers competing with complaining... I definiately learned a lot from the program and I hope it will help me down the line.

It's nice to have that chapter completed - now all my attention is on the LLB!!

Year 2, the start...

It's been a slower start than it should have been. The main reason I'd like to blame is the delay in receiving my text books.. once I received the materials from London I had to order the text books for all my classes from online sources, and the shipping delays cost me about 2 weeks of studying.

Another problem has been my inability to focus or get motivated. The class material looks like it will be interesting, but it's hard to psych myself back up for long days of reading and taking notes, when I've been traveling and 'loafing' about...

Well time is ticking, so I'd better find that motivation soon! At least I have my schedule made....

Year 2 books have arrived..

Let the stress and groaning begin, because today the text books for year two have arrived. And man, do I have my work cut out for me..

But rather than worry, I think I'll head off on another trip for a week.. this time its to Mexico to celebrate my brother's 30th..

We'll worry about Trusts, Tort, Land and History later................................

final days

We have done so much!

We visited the central south coast, stopping at Phaestos, Aiga Triada, Gortyns, Myrtos and Pirgos. We then went in to Iraklio, Knossos, and also Gournia, Kritsa, Lato, Vasiliki, and stopped to take photos all over the island!!

the past few days have been cooler as a big windstorm blew in and cooled it down - and showed us some big puffy clouds. So we've felt quite a bit better touristing around.

Today is our final day on crete - tomorrow we fly to Athens, spend a night, and then start the long haul home (Athens to NYC, NYC to Seattle, night there,, then coach home)...

I've had a blast, and don't want to go home to the cold!

Trip to date

The trip has been fantastic so far. The weather is beautiful, but a bit too hot - every day is between35 - 37 degrees, from like 10am to 8pm.. so its very hard to get away from!!

But if you know me, you know that a little heat isn't stopping me from doing as much as I can!!! We have been all over the Peloponnese penninsula, seeing a bunch of Mycenean Sites (Mycenae, Argos, Larissa, Ireo, Tiryns) as well as visiting Sparta and Mystras, Corrinth, Nemea etc etc etc... fantastic!!

We are now on Crete, on the south easts coast, on the Libean Sea (part of the Med). If you are curious, look up Ierpetera on a map of Crete, then head west until Makrigolos- that's us. So far we havve been even more East, to Zakros and up the north-east coast to Palecastro and around to Sitia... lots more planned. Today (monday),we had to have a 'day off', as its the day everything is closed on Crete.

I have internet, but cannot upload anything, so no photos until I get home. sorry!

U of Ork on Summer Vacation...

So just at the time of year that everyone else is headed back to school, the University of Orkney's law student is on her summer holiday!!

Yup, the month of September is my first time in over 2 years with no school commitments whatsoever... so Mum decided something must be done.

We are on our way to Greece! We fly from Seattle to Athens (via NYC).. will have 3.5 days on the mainland, exploring the Peloponnese Penninsula (ie visiting Mycenea, Corinth, Tyrins, Pelops, Sparta etc).. before flying to Crete.

We will have a week on Crete to explore every possible Minoan site or palace or port or whatever... I'm so excited, as I can really focus on it, and at the same time enjoy the heat and sunsine! the whole trip is 2 weeks, and hopefully will do wonders.

The University will be back in operation beginning in October. Second year involves Land Law, Tort, Trusts and the History of Law... woot!

If I find internet Ill try update this, but otherwise you'll see something when I'm back!

I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EEEEEIIIIIEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I passed them all! I can move into second year!

WOOHOOO!!!!!!!

Common Law and Contract were "Lower Second Class Honours"
Public Law and Criminal law were "Upper Second Class Honours"

The school tells you to expect Third class or Lower Second, so I did really well!!

WOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(can you tell I'm happy?)