so i'm just in from work and a little bit tipsy, as we have a 'familia nota' (family night) at the restaurant on saturdays where we all hang around together after our craziest night and have pizza, wine, beer, etc.

i must say that my date on thursday was a success. though at first it seemed that i wouldn't even get to go b/c the restaurant was so busy! i just about died at the thought b/c my u.k. mummy (eileen) decided that i needed something to wear and so she made me a dress! in one afternoon no less! and let me tell you, this dress is so beautiful...it is the prettiest thing that i own and i love it! it is probably the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me...she was so busy prepping for her trip to ireland and she was sure that she wanted to make me this dress. anyways, matthew and chrissy let me off just before ten o'clock...i ran around like a chicken with my head cut off to get ready in time for a taxi that was coming to the restaurant to get me at 10:15 (note: paul was paying for me to get a cab ride that would cost nearly 65 bucks canadian!) so the cab is outside, everyone is oohing and ahhing over how nice i look in the dress, when mauritzio says "ah, you need-ah a ride-ah to the party, i give-ah you a ride" (in his italian accent). everyone starts yelling at him in italian, asking why he didn't offer earlier b/c now the cab is already here...he says something i don't understand with arms waving around for effect...so lorraine called the cab company and said i fell down the stairs and couldn't go out, otherwise i'd have had to pay the full fare anyway! so i made it to the party (make it known that i knew no one at this shindig--i'd only met my supposed date once, briefly, at the restaurant). so because i was late all eyes were on me as i walked in the door, this is a bad thing b/c i don't like being gawked at, but gawked at i was. i guess i looked good in the dress...i got lots of compliments (quite a few people actually asked if it was versace or gucci--can you believe it!!!) and paul seemed pretty chuffed that i had actually shown up. i had a great time, he was great, his friends were awesome and i had no problem being my usual crazy self. well, this is probably getting boring for you so i'll wrap it up. i had a wicked time, i'm seeing him again and then well see what happens.

off to edinburgh on tuesday for my cousin's wedding...should be a great time...i'm going to wear 'the dress'. emails, emails, emails friends....hop to it!

catcha later dudes~~~

ok i'm going to continue where i left off....giddy up!

so i'm busy people watching in the station and trying to keep track of my bags b/c there is an announcement playing repeatedly that says: "please keep your baggage with you at all times. if you leave your bags unattended, you will be prosecuted"....i wonder, if you were to leave bags unattended, you'd either have to be stupid, or actualy mean to leave them, in which case, how could they prosecute you if you've already taken off. oh well. i was sitting on a bench across from a little restaurant and there was a family sitting having some food and drinks. the mum and nana had ordered red wine and the garcon promptly brought out two glasses, perhaps a tad too prompty as he spilled a glass all over the poor little nana, ruining her sunday best. he muttered some french apologies and ran to get her some soda water, a cloth, and another glass of wine (which he proceded to spill on her yet again!). now she was in a state and since they spoke english and he spoke french, i wandered over to see if i could help them out...long story short, i got the manager, told her that she needed to give them about £50-60 to replace the clothes that were ruined, she said she couldn't do it, i then said the garcon should get his bank card and take the money out of his account since it was his fault...that wasn't an option either. so finally, after a heated discussion en francais, it was settled that the nana would return to london, buy herself some new digs and send the receipt back to the owner of the restaurant and be reimbursed for the cost. it ended up that we were all on the train to london togther and they were so thankful that they offered to have me stay with them that evening...i thanked them for the offer, but told them i had plans to stay chez ben. by this time, we were so late for the train, we weren't even sure we'd make it....and this wasn't helped by the fact that i got stuck behind a guy with a dodgy passport that ended up being a fake.

i made it on the train, got back to ben's safely and had a relaxing evening. the next day i was to go watch a cricket match that ben and all of his friends were playing in. this was fun, except i didn't know what was going on and what the heck is a wicket anyway? it started to pour down, we took refuge in the trees, to no avail, and then decided to call it quits and head to the pub. now, for those of you guys who play hockey, and girls you know what i'm talking about too...you guys know how to have a good time, but let me tell you, these british lads have you beat by far. i have never had such a laugh in my life, they were absolutely mad! we literally took over the place, drinking beer, having push up contests, playing darts...etc. and though i didn't drink much, after awhile i couldn't tell you what was going on. it was an absolute zoo! after a couple kegs, a few bruises, broken glasses, and many hours later we all hopped on the tube back to ben's flat. (by the way ben's flatmates are paul and chris--really great guys! simon is hilarious as well, though he was just visiting for the weekend with his brown sleeping bag).

wednesday, i caught the train to liverpool and then the ferry over to the isle of man to see ali, rachel and her family...and some other friends i had made through them over the past few visits. i was so thankful that i was going to be stationary for three weeks! intially stopped off at carol's house for some visiting and chinese food with the girls. we set off for home and that was supposedly going to be no problem b/c rachel 'knew' where we were going. but ssince there were five of us and my 2 gigantic bags, we had to take two cars. michelle drove ahead with rachel as the navigator, while ali drove behind with jackie and i in her fancy new peugeot. the drive should have taken us about 20 minutes/half an hour, but thanks to rachel we ended up on a nearly three hour tour of the island that only takes two hours to see all of it. jackie was yelling in her accent "what are they doing? they've to turn right there!!...put your indicator on so they know where to go..." we finally made it back and i spent the night with rach at her boyfriend alan's, place and thursday morning i was up at the crack of dawn. you see, alan lives on a farm...thus he has loads of work to do everyday, all day. rach and i were in for it as we had volunteered our services to get soe sheep ready for an agricultural show two days later. all day we brushed (called carding) the sheep, trimmed their hair, carded it again, clipped it again....and so on. i also fed pigs, played with the sheep dogs and played around with the cutest little baby pigs!! friday was the highlight, as our task was to clean all the crap from the sheeps butts and give them baths while alan was away wrapping hay at another farm. what a joy...actually, it wasn't that bad. rach and i ended up having a lot of fun...we even had a little adventure trying to catch a runaway top lamb (baby male sheep). and with the help of some rope, a fence and the sheep dogs we barely managed. these dogs are brilliant animals! they are so smart you wouldn't believe the things they can do. saturday was the show and we all dressed up in expendable jeans, white button-up tops and ties (you need to impress the judges ya know). my job was to put baby oil on the legs and heads of the 5 wooly animals to keep them looking nice and shiny. i was filthy, hot and gross, but thankfully the juges were looking at the sheep...we did really well, my sheep (i named her zoe) won best in breed and reserve. the rest won firsts and seconds, with one coming in fourth b/c she was faking a limp. that night was a riot as we attended a young farmers party, complete with hay bails...and these farmers are hot, hot, hot! and why wouldn't they be, they've been in the sun (and rain & snow) since they were young doing hard labour. whew...those were some nice looking bodies!

sunday, i slept in...til 3pm! monday i went into town to buy black trousers (not pants, as we say at home, b/c here that means underwear...hence the snickers when i complained in public that my pants were falling down) and white tops for work...

work!! i love my job!! i started working at a little italian restaurant called la mona lisa the next day (tuesday 13th) and everyone their is so great. matthew, the 24 year old owner, who is so dramatic you could die...chrissy, the greatest gal around, runs the show...franco, the 50 something italian chef, who scares you to death, but is really one of the sweetest men i have ever met...mauritzio, 22 yr cutey pizza chef that hardly speaks any english (perhaps he'll give me some italian lessons?)...michele, the 40 odd french guy that is barely understandable, and bought a motorcycle he doesn't know how to ride properly yet, thus giving us all heart attacks when he sets off for home at the end of each night...vicky, claire, jeanette, charlotte, bruce and sam, a group of 14-16yr olds keep us in constant supply of clean dishes (you guys are the best!)...lorraine, the mummy of the group, who runs the bar...and julie, who saves us when people are away and keeps us entertained with her glamorous stories of her former life as a flight attendant for the rich and famous...and then there's me, the novelty that everyone seems to love...i don't know why, but they do. i keep people on their toes and sometimes do a bit of work. ha ha, actually i am really busy bartending, waitressing and entertaining the guests with my foreign accent...b/c i am from south africa, or australia, or sweden, or germany, and most often america...people seem to forget about canada...and when they remember, they ask me if i know their friends...it is a great place, but the busiest reataurant on the island and we are full from open til close every night with waits of over an hour most days.

i really, really enjoy working there and get along great with everyone, it feels like i've worked there for ages, not just a week and a bit. i'll be here until christmas living at rachel's (in her room while she's away at uni) with her wonderful parents, eileen and richard.

oooh! the big news, i got asked out on a date last night by a guy and his mates (paul was to embarassed to ask me, but i told him that if he wanted my company, he needn't be shy and ask me himself)...so tonight i am going with him to his mates wedding reception...can't go to the wedding b/c i have to work. though everyone there is so excited (perhaps more than me?) that they are going to let me off early and let me get ready...eileen is even going to make me a quick dress, as i don't have much to wear at the moment! don't worry mom, they are regulars, and he's not going to be drinking b/c he is driving. he seems really sweet, but i'll be wary and keep my dukes up in case he tries any monkey business. i'll let you know how it goes. wow, i am pretty stoked, but a little nervous...he's a nice looking guy and it's a pretty big move to ask a girl you hardly know to accompany you to your friend's wedding!

so, that's that for now, sorry for the extremely long entry, but i had to be done as i was way behind in my story-telling. don't forget email me friends~~~