Healthy like Dirt

Today I kindly asked The Flatmate to pick me up some coke (of the acola drinking persuation) and, because we are due to start an 8-week detox programme on Jan 1st (aren't we original), she flatly refused! When I pointed out that it is only December 30 and not indeed January 1st yet, she told me that I have to start now, so that it's not such a shock on January 1st. Since she owes me and a colleague a pint anyways, she offered to buy us (the colleague had now entered the discussion) a nice box of herbal tea at the health store down the road instead. So, I agreed and said that I wanted something revitalising (although, I don't think I actually used the word revitalising) since she was now disallowing me my little caffeine fix.

So, now I sit at my desk drinking Ginseng Vitality Ginseng Herbal Tea. After much deliberation, we decided that in actual fact, a blend of Siberian ginseng root, codonopsis root and panax ginseng root (80%), hisbiscus, cinnamon, licorice and cloves tastes like dirt. A good, healthy, zingy dirt though. A dirt one could grow to love. After further deliberation, however, we decided that what it actually tastes like is: when you go to those old, old, historical villages (like Upper Canada Village, if you're a Canadian reading this) and you enter the kitchen that smells of years of wood smoke, dried herbs, animal fur and old wooden furniture, well, if you could take a bite of the wall or table or something else that had absorbed the smell over the past 100-200 years or so, well, that's how this tea tastes. It's really quite good though, and I think that it will become my friend - especially during week 3, which is when caffeine goes out the window entirely.

On that note, my gym membership kicks in on January 1st. As of Jan 1st then, I have no excuse at all not to alternate my running with gym workouts, thereby losing my newfound bit of pudge. Especially since the clothes that I am wearing that I vowed I would not replace until I can fit into my old ones again are becoming thread bare!

And this brings me to my final dilemma of the day. I considered signing up to run the British 10K again this year, until I noticed that it's July 2nd. The day after Canada Day. What do I doooooo?

David Francey

It's a bone-chillingly cold and rainy day in London Town today, and despite aching (to my very core) to stay home, I had to come to work. I've been listening to David Francey CDs at work as I've been plugging away at budgets and other such things. His music is quintessentially Canadian, and in listening to him I can visualise myself lying on my parents couch under a blanket watching the snow falling outside and calling out "Mommy! Can you make me a cup of tea?" and my wonderful mommy coming to have a cup of tea with me (and my wonderful daddy coming to join us too - there are times when I think I might be a bit spoiled!) It makes me want to book a flight home - even if only for a weekend to say hello and have that said cup of tea with the Parental Unit.

Other times when I listen to David Francey I can imagine myself cruising down the 401 (for some reason I always imagine the incredibly boring stretch in between Kingston and Montreal, with a brief pause for excitement as we go through Lancaster) on a brilliantly sunny fall day, but today it's all about dreaming of being cozy on my parents couch instead of in the pouring rain in London.

Ah, God bless David Francey!

Blog Envy

I've been noticing some other great blogs that are out there...

Blog Envy is a painful thing. I'm finding it hard to come to terms with the fact that other people have more time (and computers and the internet at home) to spend on theirs. I have such dreams for this little blog. Someday, my friends, this blog too will be big and wonderful and featured on blogger.com's list of blogs they've noticed. I have to admit, they've been noticed for a reason, and I think a couple of them are pretty cool.

Check them out. This guy knows how to hyperlink galore... so cool...and I think I'm almost there... wait...yes, I am (check out my blog about McMaster...I hyperlinked McMaster after typing this)

http://whohastimeforthis.blogspot.com/

And this guy knows how to post video clips...

http://www.mloap.blogspot.com/

Hmmm...when I learn to do that you'll be able to see the documentaries that I made with Andrea in Canada in September...hours of fun!

My wonderful Alma Mater Strikes again!

I read in the Guardian yesterday that McMaster University (where I did my undergraduate degree) has announced that "2006 will be the year they unravel the full genetic code of the wolly mammoth which died out 10 000 years ago".

And you all wonder how it is that I'm so brilliant...

Here's the source for you unbelievers...

http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/story.cfm?id=3734

And I agree with Dr. Poinar. Mitochondria are sooooo 1980s

My New Year's...Survival Strategy

I haven't committed to a new year's resolution this year, and instead have opted for a "I have to change something because I can't carry on like this" surival strategy. I have come to the realization over the past couple of months that I generally don't have it together as well as I used to. I have become very prone to letting little things (like calling the landlord to get the heating fixed, taking a little slip of paper to the bank, calling the milkman to set up my milk order and so on) slip and have started to live in a bit of a state of absent-minded disorientation state of disorganization. I used to be the person who would write people regularly, never forget a birthday and generally have all of my ducks in a row, but since moving (both over to the UK and more notably to the Parish Lockup) my ducks have become significantly more scattered, and it's really bothering me!

It might be because (as Katrin and I have been discussing a lot lately) being grown-up (I know I said last week I wasn't particularly grown-up, but today I feel so) involves having to also organize a lot of...crap...things that previously parents, siblings, University Residents Associations, etc used to take care of for us. But it's time I suck it up and stop pussy-footing around life! If I'm going to be an independent self-sufficient person it's high-time I take the bull by the horns and start behaving as one!

Therefore, today at lunch I will: go to the bank to drop off a little piece of paper I completed on the 22 of November, call the council (again) and tell them they really need to drop off our recycling box, call our landlords and ask them why our heating device can be heard from one end of the flat to the other, and oh...mail the Christmas cards I have sitting on my bedroom floor...

Yes, my friends, from now on I will be known as Joanna the Competent. Hear me rrooooooaaaaarrrrr!!

The new Joanna, perhaps? (I'm kidding!!!)

A Couple Little Bits

There have been a couple little things I keep meaning to put up, but keep forgetting to.

The first is this sign I saw on a trip to Poole I took with Karen and Janeen to visit Anna a few weeks ago. It seems that the council is trying hard to nip the Poole drinking-on-the-beach culture in the bud, but has resigned itself to the reality of its actually doing so...

Ah, bless...

The British Obsession

While reading BBC online today, I came to the realisation that along with football, cricket, "musn't grumble" and the weather, another key British obsession is the obesity problem in the USA. It seems that almost daily, there is a report about some aspect of the tubby American nation that generally goes along the lines of "many Americans are obese, they are starting to realise it's a problem, it's because they drive everywhere, and if we're not careful the same thing will start happening to innocent British children soon". It's interesting at a time when "American-style" cookies and muffins are starting to appear on grocery store shelves and plazas of big-box stores are starting to pop up everywhere Jamie Oliver and others are changing school lunches and highlighting the need for kids to have exercise to try to nip this in the bud. Every so often, a very curious British person will ask me if the Americans really are that big, and if Canadians are as well (I know I've gained a few pounds over the past few months, but I didn't know that now makes me an expert!) and why I think that problem exists.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4436638.stm

I think I've decided to monitor the BBC...I wonder if it might be that they report on this daily...

As for the extra little bit of me, I'm training for a 10K and have signed up with a gym to start in Jan, so that should all be taken care of shortly...

The bits that be falling into place...

On Friday I got home to receive an evelope that informed me that my social work registration application has been accepted, and that I am now a registered social worker in the UK! It was such a relief and will mean that I may have an easier shot at getting the work permit that is necessary to my staying beyond the end of May!

And then this morning I had my practical driving test and passed! Now I am a full-fledged British driver as opposed to one who had been skirting through on the tails of her Canadian license for probably a little longer than she should have been! Ohhhh...the streets of London will never be the same!

Ahhhhh...these had been the two things waking me up at night for so long and now they won't! I feel like things are really starting to come together, and that I'm starting to build a bit of a life for me and am the way to becoming a proper grown-up!

Actually, along those lines I had another "I'm becoming a grown-up" moment this weekend. I'm having people around on Christmas Day for dinner, and all of a sudden it occured to me that I'm hosting Christmas, and what an adult thing that is to be doing. I hadn't fully thought through what all of this means, and that for the first time, my mother won't be a) doing the turkey or b) in the kitchen on hand if I have any questions! I realized how fully unprepared I am - I need to get stuffing recipes and a meat thermometer and...Oh! A turkey. I have to think about what to feed people for breakfast should they crash over and bedding (or, more to the point, lack of) and how to entertain people! All of this is very exciting, but, it's a bit sad in a way too...I don't know if I want to be a grownup yet! Well, just wait until I get a gravy boat and matching dishes...then I'll know that I'm pretty much there, and I'll tell you how I'm feeling then...

Oh Christmas Tree!

Last night Lisa and I decorated my little Christmas Tree (and I learned that in England, they just chop the tops off trees, so that the tree can keep growing, whereas in Canada, we take the whole thing, baby!)

Here we are with my beautiful little tree! Oh yes, and a picture of Lisa that looks like a Victorian Christmas Card!

United Nations Relocation

It seems that before too long, I'll have had a representative from every member state of the United Nations vying to be Katrin's replacement in the Parish Lockup.

Last week we had a girl from somewhere in Eastern Europe (she was frightening though, we named her "The Dominatrix" and quickly decided that I couldn't live with her). Tomorrow we have a Spanish gentleman named Juan coming, and a Frenchmen has just expressed interest as well. Methinks I will become quite popular with my single female friends should either of them move in!

I wonder if I can arrange some of blog game whereby I put profiles of them on here, and you (my loyal readers) chose the person for me to live with!

Katrin and I went for a run this morning. Lots of work to do in the next eight weeks!

Here We Go Again!

I've decided to do another 10K in February. I'd really like to cut off a bit of time from my last one...but with much less training time...

Let the adventures begin!

Ice Bar

I've been so bad at updating lately that I'm not sure if this is still checked, but at least this amuses me, if no one else...

Last weekend my friend Drew took me to the "Absolut Ice Bar" (sponsored by, yes...the vodka people) for my birthday (a belated sort of deal) and it was fantastic! Here are some shots of me trapped in an ice vodka bottle, Drew, the fuzzy cape wonder and Drew and I looking very happy to be all wintered-out! The rest of the day was spent playing scrabble, monopoly and connect four in a pub that served Sleeman Honey Brown. It was an awesome afternoon/evening! I also witnesses my first bus fight (all verbal - phew!) whereby the Police were called. I was afraid that I'd have to use my newly acquired Sleeman Glass (I asked to have it - I didn't steal it) for defense purposes, but I (and several other people on the bus) were able to hop off unscathed. Anyways, mom, dad, it's all good, and London is safe!