My lucky day [24 May 2007] [ time started | 8:42 p.m. ] So here we are just one day from the start of the long weekend, and I still don't know what I'm doing! I had been hoping Zorana would come to visit, but she has abandoned me. And by the time I started looking at flights and stuff, I had left it too late. It's looking likely that I will hang around here on Saturday (I desperately need to do some shopping), and then maybe go up north somewhere for Sunday and Monday. That's alright though, 'cause the summer is getting close, when I will be gone nearly every weekend, so having some time in the city now isn't a bad thing! This past Tuesday, May 22, was my lucky day. I started thinking of it as my lucky day about 15 years ago, and it always seems that nice things happen on that day. Usually I'm at the theatre, as was the case this year. Todd says if I make plans for the day, then there's nothing lucky about it, but I still always enjoy my May 22. :-) This year me and a group of 5 other girls from work went out for a nice dinner in Covent Garden, and then to see the new production of Lord of the Rings. I saw the premiere in Toronto last year, and wasn't too impressed, but it's much improved here. And I've actually had one of the songs stuck in my head ever since, which is generally a good sign. How is it that I usually end up organizing these theatre outings at my workplaces? :-) Last week I had a really nice dinner with Karen and Gill and their parents when they were in the city for the day. They are thinking of doing a move to the UK in the fall, so it's possible I may be seeing a lot more of them! I also went to see Wicked that night, which was good, though I wasn't that thrilled with the Glinda, unfortunately. This past weekend was fairly quiet, though I did go on a walk in Highgate on Saturday. I ended up spending quite a bit of time in the cemetery there, which was really lovely. There's a picture below of part of the graveyard, plus of a black cat that was wondering around. :-) I had been completely without Internet for five days, but I've now got a new connection that seems to be a lot better. Cross your fingers! Highgate Cemetery A black cat crossing my path in a graveyard.... [ time finished | 8:51 p.m. ]

Is this home? [16 May 2007] [ time started | 10:36 p.m. ] Time flies - it's been another week already since I updated here! I've been really busy at work, which is a good thing, but it's meant I've stayed late a few nights lately...I'll have to try not to make a habit of it. If I don't get home until 7:00, I'm not likely to do anything with the rest of my evening! On Saturday, Amanda invited me over to watch the Eurovision song contest. I'd heard about it before, but had never witnessed it, and I don't think anything could have really prepared me for it! She and her husband had a couple of other people over as well, and though the majority of the room voted for the Ukrainian drag queen, I went for the Serbian entry, who was the winner in the end! On Sunday, I was up early and on the Easy Bus (by myself...over than the driver of course) out to Luton and on to Dortmund. Jorn and his girlfriend Yasmin picked me up at the airport, and after a close call with the car (nearly breaking down on the highway!), we made it back to his house, where the Canadian flag was flying. :-) We had a really nice lunch out with his parents, who are some of the nicest people ever, and then arrived at the theatre about half an hour before the doors opened, as Jorn was helping to sell merchandise. That was cool though, because we got to watch the end of the tech rehearsal. The concert itself was fabulous. It was set up as a little musical of its own, with Ethan playing a homeless man and Monika (his wife) playing a social worker. Into this framework they fit so many of my favourite theatre songs - 'Music of the Night', 'This is the Moment', 'Stars', 'Corner of the Sky', 'Wie kann es moglich sein?', 'If I Can't Love Her', etc. etc. Plus some of Ethan's original songs. Just wonderful. They ran into problems with the recording of it, unfortunately, but I'm hopeful it will still be released. After the show we went for dinner with the crew and Ethan & Monika and their guests. We didn't get much of a chance to chat with Ethan, unfortunately, but it was still a great time. Jorn kindly offered to get up very early to take me to the airport, so I went back to his place for a few hours sleep before heading back to London, and going right into work for the day. It was pretty rough! I don't think I'll be doing it again anytime soon. :-) Tonight after work I went to see the Drowsy Chaperone. It just started previews on Monday, so today was only the 4th performance. Bob Martin is still in it, and Elaine Paige is the Drowsy Chaperone. It was very enjoyable! There were some parts that really made me laugh out loud, and definitely some I could relate to, as a theatre geek. :-) Tomorrow evening I am meeting up with Karen and Gill who are in the middle of their month-long Europe trip, so am looking forward to that! I think this weekend will be pretty quiet - I am still trying to find a relatively cheap trip away for the long weekend next week, so I'll save my pennies for now. I hope everyone in Canada has a nice Victoria Day weekend! Somserset House at the Cortauld Institute where I ate my picnic supper tonight The neat fountain in the courtyard The Drowsy Chaperone at the Novello Theatre An ad at the theatre which made me smile [ time finished | 10:53 p.m. ]

Oslo and back again [8 May 2007] [ time started | 9:49 p.m. ] I am back from Norway! It was a good weekend, though VERY expensive. You can't imagine how much things cost in Norway. I thought I would have a cheap lunch at Burger King one day, and ended up paying $16 for lunch! At Burger King!! Once I got over that, everything else was good. The weather was overcast, and it rained on Sunday, which was unfortunate, but I still did everything I wanted to do. On Saturday, I visited Akershus Fortress and Castle, along with the Norwegian Resistance museum, which was at the same location. That one was very interesting, I knew very little about the occupation of Norway during the war, other than a documentary I'd seen a while ago about the sabotaging of the heavy water plant. From there, it was a quick trip over to the National Gallery before it closed, to take a peek in the Munch room, where a version of "The Scream" is located. On Sunday, I took the ferry to Bogdoy, where I visited the Viking Ship Museum (really cool) and the Norwegian folk museum, which was an outdoor collection of historical buildings from around Norway. Kind of like Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto, the same idea. From there, I went briefly to the Historical Museum, and then back to the water for a cruise up to the Oslofjord. By then it was raining, so all my pictures of the fjord are quite dreary, but it was an interesting cruise! I'd still love to go up to the northern fjords though. I had hoped to see the production of Fiddler on the Roof that was playing there, but it was sold out when I went to get tickets. So my evenings were actually spent in the hostel, but I met some really nice people there, and may even meet up again with some of them later. Before all of that, on Friday evening, I went out after work with some of the women from my office. We had a really good time, and though I had planned to leave at around 7:30, ended up staying until 9:30, and would have liked to stay later, if I didn't have to go catch my plane! Hopefully we can go out again sometime soon. And, that was after the great news I received on Friday at work. I have extended my contract until the end of December for now, and they have given me a 30% raise! I was shocked!! And very happy, of course. :-) If they've offered me that after a month of working there, I guess I must be doing something right. Of course, I happily accepted. Here are a few pictures from Norway - I came home with over 150 pictures, I think I'm going to have to delete a few of them. :-) Me in front of the Royal Palace One of the Viking ships in the museum A gorgeous stave church at the folk museum Cruising down the Oslofjord [ time finished | 10:02 p.m. ]

Spring in full force [3 May 2007] [ time started | 8:11 p.m. ] It has been an absolutely glorious week weather-wise...I don't think I can emphasize enough how nice the weather has been since I've been here. Hardly any rain, and beautiful sunshine most days. Of course, I've been working all week, but trying to enjoy it while I can. Today I had an all-day induction at work, with presentations from all different areas of the company. It was very interesting! On Tuesday I went to see We Will Rock You, which I'd been wanting to see, and which I missed in Toronto by a matter of days (it opened right after I left). It was a lot of fun! I was familiar with the story and everything, having had the cast recording forever, but it was good to see it on stage. And they did change one small thing, for the sake of a Britney Spears/shaving joke. :-) Yesterday evening was spent in a flurry to trip planning. We managed to book the flights/bus/ferry trips for when Aubrey is here, and she and my mom and I go to Paris and to Palma. We also booked the hotel in Palma, and train tickets for my mom and I to Brussels (en route to Amsterdam). I'm pretty broke now. :-) But at least most things are set for Aubrey's trip ... now I just need to focus on the other trips that my mom and I are taking after Aubrey's gone home. Speaking of focusing on trips, I should get back to studying my guide book for Oslo, and figuring out what I'm going to do when I get there on Saturday!! I'll post early next week with pictures and a report of the trip. Have a nice weekend everyone! [ time finished | 8:18 p.m. ]