Prelude - A dog, a cat, 4 crazy girls, a webcam and a Masters Student...
(May, 2002)
Okay, so, the girls aren't the only ones who are crazy - Jack, the dog, is
also pretty nuts, and the guys upstairs have problems...
Anyways, as most of you are aware, a couple of weeks ago, I moved to London.
Well, I moved in with 4 girls in a nice old house: Amanda, Amanda, Amy and Joanna.
Jack, the dog, hates everyone, although, he seems to hate me a little bit less every
day, and he positively adores Joanna. Monet, Amy's cat, is a Himalayan, meaning
that he's a fuzz-ball who gets eye infections a lot, and he sucks up to no end.
After a few days, I had everything pretty much figured out, as far as what would
go where. This was made more interesting by the fact that the room doesn't have a
closet, and so, I had to go about buy a garment rack. So, finally, there is a place
for everything, with everything in its place... Sort of.
I've still got a bag of miscellaneous room and office stuff that hasn't been unpacked,
and my bread machine has yet to leave its box, due to a dead breadpan.
Well, for that first week and a half, I was existing in a sad, sorry state - life without
an Internet connection. I solved that one by ordering Bell Sympatico HSE on my
first weekend here, getting it all up and running on the Friday before the May 2-4
Weekend. What a glorious day that was. :)
Anyways, the Sympatico start-up kit came with a free webcam offer, so, a couple
of nights ago, I submit it, and, 2 days later, a webcam shows up on my door.
MUCH faster than the 2 weeks they said to allow for delivery. This is me being
very impressed with their speed.
Well, since last Monday, I've been working in the Youth Probation office at the
newly re-named "MCFCS", and I must say, it's actually a lot of fun. :) It's a lot
of fun, I have some great co-workers, and I get to work with some crazy people.
I also get to deal with the clients and their parents, which is a really interesting
experience! :)
Okay, my brain is telling me to hurry it up, so it can get some sleep, before I force
it to regain consciousness tomorrow at 6:00am, so, I'll get to the really cool news.
Yesterday, I checked my e-mail, and found an e-mail from a lady at the U of T
Faculty of Social Work there, asking me to call her, regarding the status of my
application. For those not aware, I had previous been on the waiting list for the
full-time, two-years Master of Social Work program there, not having received
an initial offer of acceptance. So, when I saw this e-mail, I immediately thought
"Rock and/or roll". :)
So, today, on my lunch break, I called her up, and was told that a spot had
opened up for me, and that they would be sending me a conditional offer of
acceptance, conditional upon my actually graduating and getting my
undergraduate degree. Seeing as I've more than completed the requirements
for my degree, I don't think that will be a problem. :)
So, the paperwork is going in the mail tomorrow, and, come September, I will
be in Toronto, working towards a Master of Social Work degree, specialising
in working with correctional populations. :)
Okay, I'm sorry that this isn't as well written as most of my other messages
have been in the past - I'm tired, and going to be falling into bed shortly.
Anyways, Yay me! :) Anyways, I'm tired right now, and the next time you hear
from me, I'll be much more coherent. :)
Okay, I'm going to sleep now. Good night everyone. :)
Chapter 1 - Ska, Cats and Work
There's a song by The Specials which nicely sums up the situation around
here of late, "It's Too Hot". Of late, we've had temperatures into the 30s, with
humidex ratings into the 40s. Without air conditioning, the house has been
boiling, and both of the fans have mysteriously disappeared into various
bedrooms (whose doors are then closed).
Well, that's not to say that things are absolutely boiling in the house, not
quite anyways. I managed to pry open the living room window, so, we've
got a bit more airflow through there (although, it can't be opened very wide,
as the cat will jump out of it) and I managed to find a screen for the kitchen
window (not sure why it was being thrown out, but, it was my good luck to see
it), but, even still, it gets pretty warm, with no fans, people who forget to turn
off light bulbs and the inability to open most of the windows more than an inch
or two. For the most part, it's been so hot that I haven't dared to turn on my
computer most of the time, for fear of frying something - one of the reasons
these e-mails are so infrequent, and why I've been eyeing extra cooling
fans whenever I look at computer parts stores.
At night, I get to open my windows as far as they'll go, in an attempt to
cool down my room. Sometimes it works, sometimes, it merely cools
the room down so that I'm not totally soaked in sweat when I wake up,
and it lets in a couple of foolish bugs. Not exactly the most glorious
situation, but it's the one I've got, so, I continue hoping for temperatures
in the teens for night-time.
It's a nice relief to go in to work each day; even though I'm sure the air
conditioning is only adding to the environmental problems, I'm also
sure that I enjoy being in an air-conditioned office.
But, life is more exciting than just work, a Houdini-esque cat and the
oven I live in.
