Hello "Pond" fans! I'm here! And now finally so is my computer! It was being held hostage by HMRS also know as Her Majesties Revenue and Customs Service! They were holding it in lieu of my paying a 230 Pound VAT tax on it! Yep, that roughly translates into $460! Welcome to England! Apparently the Queen is a poor old thing and needs the help...couldn't she just hit up Paul McCartney for a few bucks? I mean he's loaded! Well after much explaining that this is my personal two year old used computer that I need for work I have been sent a four page form that I have to fill out and send in with all appropriate labels and in a months time I may get my money back. Ah Monarchies... aren't they a quaint idea?
Anyhow I just wanted to post a quick update and let you know that now that I have my computer I will be posting pics and video! My mission after sculling tomorrow morning is to get some photos and post them!
Oooh and fellow Windhamite Alex Jenko has a stopover in London Wednesday so I will be meeting him at the airport. It will be nice to see a fellow Yank... there are a few of us here and I have to say... the American accent has never sounded so good! ;-)
OK well more to come tomorrow...pictures too but now its time for bed....yikes 12:20 am London time! I have to be up at 6 for the morning sculling session!
Be back soon!
Julie :-)
PS Jedi Master,
I've found my coffee shop couch! No loose springs though....I'll post a picture for you real soon... hope you are well.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Be Careful What You Wish For
I'm here! The flight was great, clear skies and smooth sailing the whole way. I got through customs in record time and friend of a friend who has a car picked me up at the airport and she was really nice. I'll be having lunch with her tomorrow. My new temporary flat-mate Kosta the Bulgarian rower helped me carry my things up 8 flights of stairs ( yes this is why they call them walk-ups!). So my arrival yesterday couldn't have gone any smoother!
I'm currently being serenaded by the rowdie pub-goers two doors down... I suppose its a good thing the pubs here close at 11!
So not wanting to waste any time and wanting to test my theory on how exercise combats jet lag, I was up at 5:30 am UK time and cycling with Kosta to the rowing club to attend his strength training class at 7. After that a quick cycle home and breakfast, the cycle back and right out onto the Thames in a single!
OK let me just say this... rowing on the Thames SUCKS! No really it sucks big time! How does it suck? Let me count the ways...
1) You have to carry your boats from the boat house down a large flight of slippery, muddy, stone steps to the water where you wade into the water (this is why the Brit rowers wear Wellies!) and place your boat. No docks!
2) Oh my God the currents are wicked. I wasn't sure if I was rowing or white-water kayaking!
3) Tons of rowers EVERYWHERE!!! You can't swing a dead fish (which they have here too!) with out hitting another sculler.
4) Crazy tidal-way vs river rules for which side of the river and/or buoys you should be on. Row up on river right up to marker 15 and then cross over and then when you reach Richmond bridge cross back over again but only if the tide is going out. If the tide is coming in the rules change.
5) It is not the ARC!!!
OK having said all that, the people here have been warm and welcoming and very anxious to take me in and teach me the ropes. And truth be told it was a bit of a thrill to be rowing on the Thames in London even if it is highly overrated. ;-)
Tomorrow I'm sleeping in (having a lie in in Brit speak) and then meeting my new friend Bryony for lunch and finding a bank! Then Wednesday more rowing and finding my school! I'm excited to see the school and meet my new co-workers. I'd post pictures but my computer hasn't arrived yet and I'm currently using Kosta's and the prompts are all in Bulgarian! I will need to go apartment hunting at some point too! Yipe a lot to do but at lest I have my priorities straight and went rowing first! he he
I'm currently being serenaded by the rowdie pub-goers two doors down... I suppose its a good thing the pubs here close at 11!
So not wanting to waste any time and wanting to test my theory on how exercise combats jet lag, I was up at 5:30 am UK time and cycling with Kosta to the rowing club to attend his strength training class at 7. After that a quick cycle home and breakfast, the cycle back and right out onto the Thames in a single!
OK let me just say this... rowing on the Thames SUCKS! No really it sucks big time! How does it suck? Let me count the ways...
1) You have to carry your boats from the boat house down a large flight of slippery, muddy, stone steps to the water where you wade into the water (this is why the Brit rowers wear Wellies!) and place your boat. No docks!
2) Oh my God the currents are wicked. I wasn't sure if I was rowing or white-water kayaking!
3) Tons of rowers EVERYWHERE!!! You can't swing a dead fish (which they have here too!) with out hitting another sculler.
4) Crazy tidal-way vs river rules for which side of the river and/or buoys you should be on. Row up on river right up to marker 15 and then cross over and then when you reach Richmond bridge cross back over again but only if the tide is going out. If the tide is coming in the rules change.
5) It is not the ARC!!!
OK having said all that, the people here have been warm and welcoming and very anxious to take me in and teach me the ropes. And truth be told it was a bit of a thrill to be rowing on the Thames in London even if it is highly overrated. ;-)
Tomorrow I'm sleeping in (having a lie in in Brit speak) and then meeting my new friend Bryony for lunch and finding a bank! Then Wednesday more rowing and finding my school! I'm excited to see the school and meet my new co-workers. I'd post pictures but my computer hasn't arrived yet and I'm currently using Kosta's and the prompts are all in Bulgarian! I will need to go apartment hunting at some point too! Yipe a lot to do but at lest I have my priorities straight and went rowing first! he he
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Row Row Row Your Boat!
So I find that I've been plunged head first into the world of serious rowing (no pun intended). I thought I would have my friends flat all to myself for the month of August but have come to find out that I will be sharing it, at least for a short time, with two very talented rowers.
Kosta, who is a 27 year old Bulgarian national rowing champion and sports trainer and Bryony a British women's lightweight champion. Bryony will be picking me up at the airport... my friends who's flat it is tell me she wants to size me up to see if I would be a good steal for her rowing club. Apparently it is very competitive over there. There are tons of clubs along the Thames and each is trying to win the most titles so stealing rowers is not uncommon.
I think I would like to join with Putney however... not the biggest, nor most prestigious, but as the Albany Rowing Club once said "scrappy but good!" Although how scrappy can they be if they have a workout room, water tank for training and a BAR? Hello! From their website they seem a friendly bunch willing to take on people who are new to the sport like me so that sounds good.
Besides I'm sure I will have my hands full just finding my way around and learning the ropes at my new job so I doubt I will be winning any regattas right away. I'll post some pictures of rowing on the Thames and the rowing club as soon as I can. Monday if possible!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Packing and Repacking
I've begun the monumental task of packing. How did I manage to accumulate so much stuff in one tiny little apartment? The good thing about a move like this is you tend to purge a lot of useless junk; the school papers from eight years ago, CD cases who's CD's have been long gone, and numerous other little bits and pieces that I've been saving for I don't know what.
The other nice thing is you get to reminisce with yourself. As I packed and moved stuff out of my apartment I came across various mementos (even if they didn't start out as mementos they are now). My book of concert tickets from concerts I've attended, backstage passes at the Grateful Dead and Woodstock reunion concerts. Don't ask how I got those, that's a whole other story! Sporting equipment from skiing to white-water kayaking. All of my instruments and music, gifts from family and friends, books and kitchen stuff, each object reminding me of some adventure or period in my life, it made me realize something. So far it's been a life well lived.
So now that I am moved out of my apartment and living at my friends house for the next couple of weeks the second purging has begun. I'm trying to travel as light as possible so the new rule is if I haven't used, worn or even seen it in the past year.... out! It's very liberating.
In the realm of other news, I've been rowing with the Albany Rowing Center every M-W-F nights and have found a club in England right next to where I'll be staying! The Putney Rowing Club, check it out! They have a bar on the top floor of the boathouse! How convenient!
Okay, well that's about it for now. Back to repacking!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
The Omega And The Alpha
The end of one school year and the beginning of a year long adventure abroad!
Wow, I can't believe this is actually happening! I spent so much time applying, getting together papers, preparing the cats for travel, organizing my home for the move, preparing at school, I just can't believe it's almost here.
I also can't believe this is the end of my ninth year at Greenville. Gosh where did they all go? It seems I've just gotten my feet under me with this teaching thing and I'm off on yet another challenge. But that's life isn't it?
So the name of my school is St. Dominick's Sixth Form College. It's in a very nice area of London called Harrow on the Hill. Probably the only significant hill in London! Lucky me I'll get to keep my mountain biking skills sharp as I won't have a car.
Here is the website if you want to check them out!
www.stdoms.ac.uk
I'll be teaching Biology and Human Biology to what would be the equivalent of our 12th and 13thth grade (If we had 13th graders). So it is kind of like our community college. The students will be very diverse as is the staff. They seem very nice and eager to interpret the language for me! I'm looking forward to learning some of the English phrases such as "pop it in my pigeon hole!" This apparently means "put it in my mail box." I'll also have to get acquainted with odd spellings like colour and realise (a lot of S's instead of Z's and C's).
Anyhow I leave August 3rd so I'll be posting little tidbits about preparations, Windham, cycling and rowing in the meantime...so stay tuned! I'll try to update at least once a week.
Love and other sports,
Julie :-)
Wow, I can't believe this is actually happening! I spent so much time applying, getting together papers, preparing the cats for travel, organizing my home for the move, preparing at school, I just can't believe it's almost here.
I also can't believe this is the end of my ninth year at Greenville. Gosh where did they all go? It seems I've just gotten my feet under me with this teaching thing and I'm off on yet another challenge. But that's life isn't it?
So the name of my school is St. Dominick's Sixth Form College. It's in a very nice area of London called Harrow on the Hill. Probably the only significant hill in London! Lucky me I'll get to keep my mountain biking skills sharp as I won't have a car.
Here is the website if you want to check them out!
www.stdoms.ac.uk
I'll be teaching Biology and Human Biology to what would be the equivalent of our 12th and 13thth grade (If we had 13th graders). So it is kind of like our community college. The students will be very diverse as is the staff. They seem very nice and eager to interpret the language for me! I'm looking forward to learning some of the English phrases such as "pop it in my pigeon hole!" This apparently means "put it in my mail box." I'll also have to get acquainted with odd spellings like colour and realise (a lot of S's instead of Z's and C's).
Anyhow I leave August 3rd so I'll be posting little tidbits about preparations, Windham, cycling and rowing in the meantime...so stay tuned! I'll try to update at least once a week.
Love and other sports,
Julie :-)
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