Rice...

So I'm not the smartest person in the world...

On Tuesday my sister and her boyfriend and my mom were all making dinner - I don't know why they thought they needed such a team effort but regardless they did. My sister's boyfriend burnt the rice so I thought I would be helpful and chuck the rice down the disposal and start soaking the rice pot - it was burnt pretty black.

Apparently you ARE NOT supposed to put rice down a sink because it expands and clogs the pipes. How can I have lived so long and NEVER been told this. Needless to say the sink got all clogged and the pipes started leaking and I had to go to school that night so I left my very annoyed younger sister and her boyfriend to try and deal with the mess. She then against my advice put draino down the sink - I figured that since the pipes were already leaking that the draino would just pour out anyways...and it did - they then used my towel to clean up all the mess - my blue and white striped towel is now pink and white - how fun. They spent hours trying to fix it but they couldn't.

So Wednesday I came to work and went onto Ask.com and asked the question "How do you unplug a sink clogged with rice?" I got several good answers but the one I went for was the sink snake - so after work I went to Home Depot and picked myself up a 1/4" auger. I got home at 4:15 and by 4:30 I had removed the trap and snaked the drains and unclogged the clogs.

The lessons in this story are...
1) Do not put rice down a sink
2) You can "Ask" anything and get a good answer
3) If I make a problem I will fix the problem

Oops....

So you know how I said I was giving up caffeine which included chocolate for lent...well I made a few mistakes on Saturday...I was at a wedding and I had a little brownie and a nanaimo bar - I didn't even think of it until I was having lunch later that - oh wait I had chocolate...and then that evening someone brought over timbits and I immediately scooped a chocolate one because they are my favorite and ate it - then realized that "Dang - that was chocolate!" and at the same get togther someone had made a wonderful chocolate cake and I thought well what the heck I might as well have a piece - who actually eats chocolate for the caffeine anyway right? It shouldn't count...*sigh*...I'm such a bad person

LENT....

So I decided to give up caffeine for lent - Yeah caffeine not just coffee or tea or pop or chocolate - caffeine - so essentially I have given up all those things.
I am SO tired and have this chronic headache but I have made a committment and will follow through.
I have no desire to be addicted to caffeine anyways so this is as good a time as any to kick the habit.

Today blew!

Work blew today and if the windows in my bulding actually opened I probably would have taken a leap.
Tomorrow doesn't promise to be any better that shining star is that Maia is coming to visit for the weekend and I cannot wait for her to come. I need to talk to a CANADIAN for hours! I hope that that will help me feel less cranky and desperate.

So...what's new?

December:
Ok so obviously I got back from my trip.
I spent Christmas with my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandma.
I spent a lot of time on MSN with the fam in Canada...miss them! It was our first Christmas when we weren't all together - I'm such a bad sister.

Janaury:
Since then Anne and Maia came for a visit. It was such a gong show! I hadn't laughed so much since I left home. I guess you never realize what you're missing until it's right in your face. Anne went home and Maia is still in England but I haven't seen her since she went off to school - but we have high hopes of seeing eachother soon.

February:
I spent my birthday in Brighton with friends - fun times!
I had decided that I didn't want to look for a job until after that so I didn't.
I was getting poorer by the second. I finally started looking for a job by contacting my agency but the didn't come up with anything and I was getting desperate so...I put my resume back on Monster and within a day I got a job. Thank you God! All my savings were gone and I was desperate.
My sister Anna got engaged on February 3 (the day after my b'day). None of us are in the wedding party but I do have a very special role. Anna says I am 'The Ring Leader'. Now when she first told me I thought it was some new thing in the ceremony that I hadn't heard of. But it actually her way of saying that I need to make sure that someone doesn't piss her off on the day and make sure everything goes smoothly.

March:
I am working for a company called Westfields. It started in Australia and now is in New Zealand, the UK and the US. They build shopping centres.I work with a 'team' and we all do payables for different parts of the company. I work on the Payables for the Derby and White City construction sites. I've never worked with a team before (other than the Hut) and it is so much fun! We all get along really well which is good because you see these people everyday and if they were nasty it would suck. I think I'm spoilt now - I can't go back to working on my own or just one other person.

Future:
I have no idea - I can't even decided if I when I want to go home. I can't decided where I want to go home to. Mom sold the house so at this point I kind of have no where to stay in BC. However, all the sibs are in GP so they all say I can stay with one of them ie. Stephen and Emma, Anna and her roomies, or Yuya and his roomies. Living with all guys might be fun - hahaha!
The future - God only knows what that holds....

Europe Trip 2007...

So the trip has begun but I haven't slept in days. SO tired. No time left at the Internet cafe so more soon.

My trip starts tomorrow...

So tomorrow I plan to be on a bus to catch a bus by 5:30am - sucky!
However, the not sucky part is that I will be embarking on a 12 day whirlwind coach tour of Europe.
I finished at my job at the ACU on Friday and have since then been desperately trying to get myself organized. I have packed my backpack atleast 6 times now. I can't take everything I want but oh well too bad so sad - but that's life. I am now packed for the last time I think - I hope.
I stopped by work today and I got presents - yay! I got a travel journal and I passport cover. Very sweet.
I had to meet my tour people at 6:00 pm tonight but in usual Sarah Cherry style I was WAY early so I have already started the travel journal. I sat in a cafe and had a stale bagel and a yummy latte and wrote. It was boring and funny at the same time. I had over an hour to kill - SO funny! I am hoping to time things a bit better tomorrow no need to show up 4am!

The new new girl...

So the original new girl go fired - in a really sneaky way too but that wasn't my fault. My boss told me she didn't think the new girl was working out and I had to wholeheartedly agree. So last Tuesday when she went home for the day my boss called the agency that had sent and told THEM to tell her not to come back. I feel bad for new girl but she would have so over her head when Robyn and I leave that it's better this way.
So now we have a new new girl and she is working out way better. She is very thorough and that will work to her advantage when the boss gives her the third degree about something.
So not this Friday but next Friday will be my last day of work till I have no idea when. I will be unemployed and loving it - I hope.

My friends are geniuses...

So two of my friends have decided to brave the journey to London from North America and visit me. One is leaving from Vancouver and one is actually travelling to Buffalo from Ontario to catch a cheaper flight to London. They conferred with eachother on their flight plans and managed to get flights that arrive with only 40 minutes between however (here's the genius part) one is arriving at Gatwick and one is arriving at Heathrow. WHOOPS!

The new girl...

So my boss has finally found someone to replace me - sort of. She came in yesterday for a working interview and my boss asked her come in for a two week trial so she was in today too. I got nothing done today - I hate training people. Robyn was in today (poor girl was feeling very sick yesterday so she wasn't in) so I asked her if I was just as bad when she trained me but she said that I caught onto everything really fast. I think that I probably did too because whenever I train for anything I always get told that I catch on fast. Anyways this new girl sure does not catch on fast. She's older than me and I have to tell her exactly how to do every single thing. Even though most of the work is repetitive she still kept asking the same questions over and over again. She seems to have no initiative - I hope that Monday will be better but I don't know. Training someone just sucks the life out of me - I am SO TIRED! Thank goodness it's the weekend.

In better news I think Robyn will be working with me over the 2 weeks that the boss is away and she is awesome! The bosses last day is this coming Thursday and she won't be back till the 5th of December and the 7th is my last day - after that I will be a lady of leisure until the end of January. I am so excited not to work - yahoo!

Ok now that's creepy...

I've never been a big scaredy cat - I watch horror movies and the like all the time. But maybe I'm mellowing in my old age because I'm watching The Ghost Whisperer and it is creeping me out! I'd heard about the show a while ago but never really bothered to watch because I figured that Jennifer Love Hewitt = LAME. But I can't believe how creeped out I am by this show - I hate the fact that I live alone now - at least I can tell myself that all the weird stuff I keep hearing is the neighbors - right?

Look what happens when I leave home...

So my brother and sister-in-law moved to NORTHERN ALBERTA this past weekend. This means that as of today Anna, Becca, Stephen and Emma all live in NORTHERN ALBERTA! Mom put our house on the market on Saturday with the intention of moving to NORTHERN ALBERTA if/when it sells. Who in their right mind wants to live in NORTHERN ALBERTA!
I have no one to blame but myself.
Anna started the trend of the NORTHERN ALBERTAN move but it's still all my fault. You see Anna wanted to go to Bible College but they all seemed too expensive so me being the ever helpful older sister went online and helped her find the cheapest Bible College in Canada - it was in NORTHERN ALBERTA. She decided to go for a year which turned into 4 and she now lives there permanently even though her schooling is done - thanks to her wonderful boyfriend (who we all love).
Becca was the next to make the move - she decided that she wanted to go to Bible College too and figured that the Bible College in NORTHERN ALBERTA would be a good idea. She also went up for a year and is now making it 2- God literally only knows how many.
Now Stephen and Emma have migrated North thanks to the lure of better work and cheaper housing. But seriously it's NORTHERN ALBERTA - it snows in JUNE!
Since all her kids are in NORTHERN ALBERTA and she has a sister and brother in Edmonton Mom has decided to move up there to be closer to her family. She's selling the family home and moving Northward.
I, however, moved to England short term in June of this year and can't believe that when I move back to Canada it will have to be to NORTHERN ALBERTA since, as my mom puts it ''All your stuff will be there.'' Which, don't get me wrong, I totally appreciate that she is willing to transport all my stuff with her but never in a million years did I imagine that we'd all end up living in NORTHERN ALBERTA. I'm getting cold just thinking about it. (Funny story: When Anna moved to NORTHERN ALBERTA my Mom started this thing where Anna was her favorite daughter since she was the furthest away - so whenever Anna would call we'd tell her it's her favorite daughter etc. Well guess who's the Favorite now?! Sad to say that was seriously one of reasons I came to England - haha I win!)
It's ironic to me that I will probably end up living there (atleast for a shortwhile) considering I have never had anything good to say about NORTHERN ALBERTA. I've been there twice - both times in the summer and had to wade through melting snow drifts and huge mud patches. You look around and everything is filthy and you can actually see your dog run away for three days.
*sigh* oh well - God's hand is in this so it's for the best.

The weekend came and went and is almost here again...

My Aunt and Uncle came up from Lymington Friday night to spend the weekend at their flat with me. They do this once every month - usually the first weekend of the month at that. We sorted out what is going on for Christmas - ie. I get back from my trip on the 22 of December and will go down to Lymington to spend Christmas with them and Grandma as well my Uncle Graham and Aunt Elaine and my cousin Simon and his wife Gemma will be coming over. Gemma will be cooking the Christmas meal for all of us (Note to self: offer my meager cooking services to Gemma).
Saturday I went and did a huge grocery shop and bought only healthy food - yeah me. I made homemade Honey Mustard Dressing that turned out absolutely horrid even though I followed the recipe exactly. I also made a couple of loaves of bread from my Weight Watchers cookbook - one white and one Wholewheat and Honey - they turned out pretty well. I also called my mom and wished her a super happy birthday. She flew up with Emma to GP to spend her birthday with Anna (Becca went down to PG to spend the weekend with her BF's family). Mom got some nifty gifts but I think her favorites are the bright red gloves and new Reginald Hill book I sent to her from here. I mean really wants a Nintendo DS with games and new clothes from Reitmans? Haha! Let me just say that my mom is the most spoiled mom in the world!
Sunday I skipped church because I was late anyway and instead wandered around Leicester square and found the perfect little restaurant to each before going to see a play (Maia!). I was going to see a play but the Half Priced Ticket Booth was closed for some reason. Then I thought I'd go see a movie but all the movies had already started or were going to start in a couple hours. So I just took pics and went back to the flat and made WW Raspberry muffins - must use less raspberry's next time!
My boss skipped work Monday (of course) then called in sick on Tuesday (shocking) she came in yesterday but I was so messed up with my days I went through the whole day thinking it was Tuesday. I didn't realize my mistake until I talked to Anna last night and she corrected me - missed recycling day AGAIN!
So today is Thursday and I have awful cramps and I ran out of medicine! Someone hand me a rusty spoon so I can carve out my uterus - please.
Tomorrow is Friday and then it is Saturday - thank you God for weekends!

Drama...

I finally got to sleep and in it was beautiful. When I did finally get up I it was 11:15am and I had to get to the post office by 12:30 - no prob.
I left at 11:45am got to the post office at 12:00pm - still looks good right?
I get to cashier and I needed to pay £1.36 for postage - pretty small amount no problem - right? Wrong.
I looked in my wallet and only came up with £1.23 - I left my purse at the flat and only brought my wallet so...I felt stupid but I needed to use my card - still no problem right? Wrong.
I couldn't find my card in my wallet - I needed to go back to the flat - I appologized and said that I would be right back - it's now 12:05pm I speed walked all the way up the hill back to the flat - tore apart my purse looking for my card - no card - more change though so now had enough for the postage but where the heck was my card? I looked in the shopping bag from yesterday - nope - checked my coat pockets - nope - in a last ditch effort I checked my wallet again and it was there but in the wrong spot - Man am I STUPID!
It's now 12:20pm I rush back down the hill and get to the post office by 12:25pm pay for the postage and mail it off.

I can't believe all that drama just for mail!

Bits and pieces

*For as long as I can remember my hands have been cold with the exception of when I am sick. When I am sick my hands are warm. Since I am currently sick my hands are warm however I have noticed that they are cooling down - hopefully this means that I can expect to feel better soon.
*My boss came back from her holiday and I told her that I won't be staying on after December. She took the news a lot better than I thought she would. I think that is partly because right before I told her she got an email from a previous employee exspressing interest and resuming her role in the finance department.
*I'm totally bummed out that I will be missing my mom's birthday. I can't remember ever not being with her on her birthday. I have sent her present to her already so she should get it soon - look at me being all organized and everything.
*I have totally lost my appetite. I've been trying to force myself to eat but most of the food available turns my stomach at just the thought of eating it. I hope I feel better soon.

Cold cont...

I am not the only one to afflicted by this vicious virus. Apparently two other girls called in sick yesterday and today my co-worker has also called in sick. My boss just rang me to tell me that she won't be in today either for fear that she may succumb to the nasty sniffles. That means 2 things: 1. I will have the office to myself today 2. I haven't told my boss thanks but no thanks yet.
I am sitting at my desk slightly faint and perhaps feverish but present none the less and hoping that the £84.50 that I will earn is worth it.
Money - it makes the world go round.

No show...

I called in sick to work today - I spent most of the day in bed but I still don't feel any better. I'm going to have to go in tomorrow I can't afford to miss too much work.
Colds suck!

Poor me...

I'm sick :( I woke last night with a sore throat and a stuffy nose. Now being so far away from home means that all the medicine I usually take for a cold is not available. So yes poor me - boo hoo.
I've been chugging orange juice all day in the vain hope that that would help so we shall see how I feel tomorrow but I don't think that I will be any better.

Interesting...

So the boss was in on Monday and Tuesday but she has taken the rest of this week and the beginning of next week off.
But that doesn't stop her from making my life difficult.
She offered me a permanent job here. Now I came back to this job with the clear understanding (I thought) that it would be a strictly temporary thing. It has come to my attention recently that I have never been without a job and I think I need a chance to try new things.

My jobs to date have been:
1. Stable hand (I'm not kidding)
2. Quiznos sandwich maker
3. Pizza Hut - CSR, Server, Shift Manager, Assistant RGM
4. Traveland RV - Receptionist
5. Numbers Accounting - Bookkeeper

Now my job here is ok but I don't want it - and I get this feeling that my boss is really manipulative and I kind stand that.
I see how she's trying to manipulate the other girl into staying and it makes me wonder just how much time she's probably spent manipulating me as well.
She tells me that I need to stay because if I want to travel the countries won't let me in if I don't have a permanent job which may be true but I'm not that concerned about it - plus if I take the job it's a pay cut - who takes a pay cut? When I pointed that out to her she told me that I was wrong but I figured it out - I'm making £13/hr now and if I took the job I would be making £12.08/hr - pay cut!
I'm tired of settling and I want to see what else is out there - this job holds no new things for me to learn it is time to move on - once she gets back from her holiday I'm going to tell her that she needs to find someone else because I'm not interested.
I've been fretting over this for a few days now and that's my conclusion.

The boss has returned...

So my boss didn't come in Thursday either but she did come in today.
She looked like she was ready to pass out - and she almost did at one point.
She really should not have come in today but she felt that she had to.
I hope she doesn't come in Monday because she needs to get better - I defintely don't want to catch whatever it is that she has.