Jobs Update

Just wanted to quickly let those who were curious (mom) know that I think
my job interview at Pilat Media went well. It was about an hour and a half and he hinted to me that the 2nd interview was in two weeks and gave me some pointers should I get to that level. Also I found out the job could be up to 80%travel in the year. So, wow. A lot to think about should I progress with this.

ALSO I applied with the Olympics about a week ago and I got an email saying I made it past the first stage and have booked a phone interview with them for February 10th! Could be good...

Genevieve

Peanut, Peanut Butter.... Jelly!

I've had a few conversations with the people I work with about peanut butter, and about PB&J.
At work we have marmite, Vegemite, honey, jam, marmalade, and even nutella but no peanut butter. I asked my boss about it and be said it was very American and he didn't want his shop being related to anything to do with America. Can you believe that!?

The girls I work with have tasted peanut butter, but have never had peanut butter and jam together. Hannah asked me if peanut butter and jelly was something people actually ate, and then I had to explain the difference between jam and jelly... (Yes I know there is a joke there Phil).

So today I brought some peanut butter to work - Justin's precious Kraft brought over from Canada by Jaimie from my mom - so Cara and Magda could taste the classic PB&J. I toasted some bread and we ate some in the back room of the cafe. Guess what? They loved it! :)
I'll have to get Hannah to try it this weekend.

Gen

Three Months - Is The Probabtion Period Over?

I just realized that today it has been three months since we arrived here in London. Wow time flies.

Today is the first day off in what feels like forever that I have not had a ton of catch up to do. I'm sitting at a little restaurant in Wimbledon Village (basically the fancy part of Wimbledon) having a glass of wine and some lunch. I wanted to go explore Camden Market but it's pouring rain today for the first time in quite a while so this will suffice.
I'm sitting at a large share table with 5 moms and their babies. Mommie meet-ups like this seem to be really common here, or maybe just in the area I live and work in. It's funny to listen to them talk about yoga and poop, and then get distracted because one baby did something cute. To be perfectly honest I have to clean up after so many moms at work that I would rather be somewhere without children right now, but this place has good food and free wi-fi so beggars can't be choosers. Also, I have never seen as many breastfeeding women as I have in the past 3 months - just thought I'd throw that in because I can see 2 right now.

I should be researching the company that I have an interview with tomorrow (yay!) but I need a bit of a break from looking for work every second I have a day off. I got a call yesterday from Pilate Media (http://www.pilatmedia.com) asking me to come in for an interview and seeing as this is only my 4th interview since living here including the job I currently have I was pretty stoked. I'm not sure if this role is something I want - it's an 'Implementation Consultant' which I imagine is basically a liaison between broadcasters who use their system and the company. The advert said that extensive international travel was part of the job so it will be interesting to hear about what that means exactly. I had a brief conversation with Justin about being away for extended amounts of time last night just to see what would work for him and what wouldn't. We will cross that bridge if/when we get there.
And just FYI I did meet up with the lady who sent me the rejection letter but I haven't heard from her since then.

A quick story for you: The other day at work I commented on a guy wearing almost all green and asked him if he had green pants. When he told me that no in fact he didn't I said he needed to work on that. That same day on my break I saw a girl wearing green jeans and so when he came in the next day I said to him "I saw someone wearing green pants yesterday and thought of you." He laughed and said that he was very flattered. When I elaborated on the fact that they were jeans, he was like ' Oh! You mean trousers... I thought you were talking about underwear!" ... So for two days a customer thought I was making conversation about his ginch. Awesome. I should have known better because Kim (a friend here) told me a similar story - but her's involved a child who she was teaching, so she wins.

So we will be assessing our situation here in about a month an a half, which seems way too soon. I love being here and it is so awesome being close to amazing countries to visit, but we can't afford our place on the wages we are making. Hopefully something gives in the next 6 weeks.

I thought the hardest part about being so far away from home would be missing out on the good times and great moments in peoples lives - which does suck - but I've realized it is actually not being able to be there for your family and friends when something bad happens. I hope to baby jesus that nothing shitty happens to any of you. Ever.

Send us your good vibes and thoughts if you think of us.
Love you all.
Genny

Things I miss.

In no particular order, here are a few things I miss from back home:

- The ocean and the mountains. Not even really snowboarding or going to the beach, just seeing them or knowing they're close by.

- Hockey. I have been watching nearly every Canucks game online, but avoiding the score to watch it the next day is tough, and it's just not the same as watching a game live with friends. I could also really go for a stick and puck session.

- Decent skate parks. I knew it would be a step down here, obviously I've been spoiled in BC. But the parks here are pretty brutal, and few and far between, and often over run with scooters. Every kid in the UK has a scooter, they don't walk anywhere, strictly scooter.

- Vancouver Island. I miss knowing I can go there any weekend I want. I miss the trees, the quiet, and of course the people, you know who you are. I don't miss the ferry yet though.

- Driving. I miss my truck, being able to get out and explore whenever I want. I miss driving to work, taking tools on the train sucks, not to mention being treated like a leper for having some dust on my clothes in a sea of pant suits and man purses.

- The Tragically Hip. I miss hearing them on the radio or in public places. Why is it that Nickelback can cross the pond and not them.

- Canadian food. I could go for a caesar, or a teen burger and frosty mug of A&W root beer, or one of the many great Kraft products available at Buy Low. I don't even really like sushi but I could go for some now. I wish my fridge was full of Lucky instead of Stella.

- Money. I miss making a decent amount of it. I miss having extra of it. I miss not spending so much of it on everything.

I don't, however, miss the restless uneasy feeling I had for the few years before getting here that I needed to get out and do something... or snow.

- Justin

The Rejection Letter?

As I wrote about in previous posts, I have had one TV job interview so far and it was for an assistant type role for an acquisition and distribution company. Well after a follow up phone call and email, that I was very nervous about sending, I received the following email.

***
Hi there-

Sorry to take so long to come back to you.

In the end we haven't done second interviews, after reviewing our needs and the overall intention of the job, we have moved forward with another candidate - we did really want to stick to our guns and bring in a recent graduate who can grow up with the company. I did think you were great and you could have done the job with your eyes closed but you really would have become bored quickly.

I'd love to meet up for a drink sometime, I'd be happy to share any contacts I have or point you in a direction if I can help at all. Depending on your ability to travel I may know of something coming up which is out by Heathrow - not ideal I know but not a bad job.

Hope to be in touch.
***

So... Not what I wanted, but better than nothing I guess. I emailed her back saying I would definitely take her up on her offer of a drink so we'll see.

Just thought I'd share.
Gen

The Water

One thing both Justin and I miss that we really didn't expect is BC water. The water here in London is so brutal. I can only wash my hair 2-3 times a week max or it feels like straw. And the taste is not good. Not good at all.

My shower in the hostel in Amsterdam was a surprising treat as the water was so lovely, and the pressure was strong. Since we have lived here we haven't had a shower with basically any water pressure. I'll be looking forward to that so much when i come home.

I was asking my boss what the deal was with all the sinks having two separate taps here, and he made fun of me for being from 'fancy' Canada where all the water flows into one tap.

I guess it's really easy to take the very small things for granted.

Gen

Busy Couple Weeks

Happy New Year!
How were all of your celebrations? Our New Year was wonderful; Jaimie was here and we ate lots of food at home and then went out to a bar near our house for the evening. It was nothing huge or fantastic, but sometimes I think those make the best evenings. We got quite a buzz on and then Justin made a few drunken phone calls when we got home. 'Twas quite funny. We had considered going to the huge fireworks celebration in central London but even our London guide book said to avoid it, and none of us were gung-ho enough to be the motivator, so we bought tickets for the bar instead. Stumbling distance home is always a bonus, and not something you find in Vancouver very often so it was nice to take advantage of that.

I feel like I haven`t done much but enjoy myself over the past couple weeks; first with Amsterdam and then with Jaimie here. Justin told you all about Amsterdam in the last post, but I just wanted to say that it was such a beautiful city and we had a great time. It was probably the most un-Christmassy holiday I will ever have, but that is ok. I am still craving Turkey dinner though. This picture is the group of people we met at our Hostel and who we went out to party with on Christmas night. It was pretty unforgettable.

Having Jaimie here was awesome. We did a lot... Went to Stonehenge which was pretty awesome. I was reading reviews online about it just to see how much you had to pay to get in and things, and I couldn't believe how many people literally said 'it's just a pile of rocks in a field'. Even the girl renting us the car to go there told us that. As we expected, it's not just a pile of rocks (if you care about that sort of thing). It was awe inspiring. The audio guide tour was a bit of a bust but if you do you research you don't need it. Justin driving around was pretty great too. I think he's caught the fever and the only prescription is more driving. We drove up to the stones at Avebury as well which was completely different from Stonehenge. We drove around all these little villages and so many houses had thatched roofs, which I had never seen before. It felt like we were in medieval times.
We also went to the Tate Modern museum which is a museum based around art after 1900. It was very interesting, bizzare in some cases, ridiculous in others, but very educational. We went to Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland for the 2nd time and drank some German beer. It's a really great festival with rides and pubs and food. We ate a Zebra burger. It was odd. We went to a few other museums and tried to cram as much into one week as we could while still enjoying our time and relaxing. Jet lag plays a big factor for the first couple days of the trip too... something to keep in mind if you`re coming to visit.

I`m back at work now and have worked full days for the first time since before Christmas, in fact my hours have been increased so I work from 9am - 7:30pm with one half hour break. My body is aching like a 90 year old woman's. Quite a lot of my job is physical, which would be great for my figure if cheese wasn't so cheap and amazing here. I am obsessed with the cheese.
You know, it crossed my mind yesterday that although my job isn't ideal - I have to vacuum with a smiley face hoover, I've finger banged a sink full of porridge and carrot & coriander soup to unclog it, I mop and clean up after people every day - I am not less happy than I was in a more "rewarding" career. I like the job less, yes, but if I assess the overall quality of my life I feel about the same. Interesting to think about, because I have always believed that a job can make you happier. I am second guessing that now.

So what was your New Year's resolution? Mine is to think before I speak. Being here has given me a lot more opportunity to observe people and in turn observe myself. I'll let you know how that progresses.

I could write a lot more but I have to get ready for work, so instead I'll throw in a few random pictures of where we have been and who we have been with over the past couple weeks.



Love you all. Miss you. Think about you every day.
Gen