The past few days have been the start to February half term. After my first couple of training days, the resort opened and now it is fully booked, with people everywhere. It is amazing how many activities, and venues they have open and running at the same time. There are 36 redcoats, and once you are walking around its hard to not see one of us somewhere in uniform. I have signed over 10 autographs, which is sweet!!! Being a red is like a mini celebrity on resort, its the coolest thing. I got to walk around with Titan, who is a massive robot that interacts with his audience. I got to watch the Skyline Gang, Barney and Pingus shows, walk around with Cedric (the seagul) and Ludo (the dinosaur) to welcome guests at front gate. I spent an afternoon with Billy and Bonnie (his girlfriend) as well as Angelina the ballerina and Fireman Sam. I worked in Reds (home of the redcoats) a couple nights, which was great because I get to interact with the families, and dance with all the kids. I watched a magic show with them, then last night I saw the Pink tribute, followed by Take That, which was unreal! Such amazing shows! Upstairs in Center Stage was Lazy Town followed by the Lady Gaga tribute, and both venues were full! The environment is so positive and energetic, there is always stuff going on. Its a british Disneyland. Once off, we are aloud to use any of the venues we want and we get discounts on some of them too.
My accommodations definitely need some work. My roommate, Zoe and I are probably going to paint next week and buy some stuff to make it feel more like home. She lives just a short 30 minute drive away, and I've already met her family. All really nice people. Then my other roommate has her own room right now, and she is from Hungary. She's a bit shy, but friendly as well.
Saturday was Dads last night in England so we went to Sarah and Shauns (my british parents basically) for a meal. It was another great night and I was obviously sad to see him go. I wish I could have all the people from home, come here and experience everything that Butlins and England has to offer. Ive been given such an amazing opportunity. Today is my very first day off, which I have spent so far sleeping in, and typing this. I have laundry that needs to be done, and then when Zoes off we are heading into town together to pick up some groceries, bed sheets, slippers, all that fun stuff. I better get up to shower and eat something, so have a fabulous day, and thanks for reading. xx
2/13/2012
2/07/2012
Life in Bognor
So its been a few days, and I have been exploring the town and soaking up british culture. I spent a day around town, walking down the beach, seeing the high street, doing some groceries, the regular stuff. I love my town, its really cute and has everything you need. It even has SUBWAY! Went in to it today and had a moment, almost wanted to cry. I loved it, its my home away from home. Im being a little bit too sentimental i think, but it was great. Some things were different, they have quavers, my favorite british chips, and they have some indian style subs, as well as ketchup as a sauce. Uhm, who the hell puts ketchup on a sub... and what sub are they putting that on?! They had another sauce called 'Brown Sauce'... no thank you? There was no hot peppers, just jalapenos, and they had corn pieces as well. It was definitely a british version of my regular work back home. I set up my banking today at Barclays and the guy that set me up was super nice and really friendly, which is comforting that I can go back and speak with him whenever I have an issue. When I went into the grocery store, I bought myself a bottle of Cider, for the canadians reading that, its just old apple cider basically that has now turned to alcohal. To me, it just tastes like sweetened apple flavor beer, its alright, but not my favorite yet. When I purchased it, I was ID'd.. believe it or not! So I handed him my candian drivers licenses, and he had to have 3 people look at it, to make sure it wasn't fake.. Like can you not hear me? I have a very canadian accent, hope this doesn't happen when im at the bar!! Whilst in town, Dad bought me an adorable Pink phone which i absolutely love, and already have contacts?! Sweeet!
Yesterday I spent the day in London with dad, and I met his best man (from his wedding years ago)! He was great, a little outrageous, really funny, good guy. He has his own flat in london, and im so jealous! It has a gorgeous fire place, 2 floors, a huge back yard, and its very old, I think he said its from 1892 or something. I told him if he sells, im buying. Its nice to have more connections as I now have a place to stay whenever I want to go to London, which is just a short hour and a half from where I live now. It was a really good trip with Dad, and we did all your average touristy stuff like taking pictures with big ben, the london eye, standing inside a phone booth and visiting Buckingham Palace.
Today, I did my banking, had my subway fix, then came to Butlins to finally start my new journey. After filling out all of my information and signing the x's, I moved along to get my uniform, the fabulous red coat. We all have to wear last years uniform for the first two weeks, until our new stuff comes in, which is actually really nice! Last years is a long white pleated skirt for girls, a white collared shirt, underneath a bright red blazer. It is very old school and is supposed to mimick the original red coat uniform from back in the first days of Butlins. The new uniform is a pretty little black dress underneath the bright red blazer. Both are very sharp, but different looks. After setting myself up with a uniform, I moved along to see my housing. Most of the staff that work at Butlins, not just the Reds, are housed on resort. We live in rows of old guest accomodations. They are old and beaten down, but livable and unique. I have an open living room and kitchen, which i share with two girls. We are only aloud to have a microwave pretty much, as they don't trust us with much else.. We have two little fridges, a TV and a toaster, which I'm not sure they we are even aloud to have. There are two rough looking red couches, and a small table to eat at. An old tv and some blank, cream colored walls. Three of us share one bathroom, which could definitely use some work. I share a room with another redcoat who just moved in today, her name is Zoe, and as I type this in the living room, shes sleeping already, its about 1 am here and i've just come in from the bar. My other room mate has her own bedroom, and she is in house keeping I believe.. Shes eastern european and has a son.. I don't remember her name, but she seems really nice and quiet. Right now I can hear someone snoring.. I really hope its not my room mate, cause I can't handle that, so I guess we will just have to see in the morning.. hahahaha.
When I got my welcome package I was given 6 free drink coupons to be used in Butlins. Currently we are closed to guests this week and are open on Friday onward for Englands 'half term', I guess this would be the Canadian 'March Break'. When the resort is closed, because there are so many workers living here (about 500), they open the bar for us so we all have a place to go. Its really quite cool, its like our own little village of people that all have something in common, Butlins. I met some other red coats today, and went out to the bar with Tiffany. She is a really nice girl and we had a good night. She introduced me to the people she knew, and I met others as well. Played some pool, had some drinks and called it a night at midnight when they closed. Tomorrow morning is my first day of training with something called 'Road Maps'. I start at 9am tomorrow, so I best be heading to bed now. Hope you all feel updated enough. The next few days will be quite interesting I believe, so stay tuned.
Cheers. xx
Yesterday I spent the day in London with dad, and I met his best man (from his wedding years ago)! He was great, a little outrageous, really funny, good guy. He has his own flat in london, and im so jealous! It has a gorgeous fire place, 2 floors, a huge back yard, and its very old, I think he said its from 1892 or something. I told him if he sells, im buying. Its nice to have more connections as I now have a place to stay whenever I want to go to London, which is just a short hour and a half from where I live now. It was a really good trip with Dad, and we did all your average touristy stuff like taking pictures with big ben, the london eye, standing inside a phone booth and visiting Buckingham Palace.
Today, I did my banking, had my subway fix, then came to Butlins to finally start my new journey. After filling out all of my information and signing the x's, I moved along to get my uniform, the fabulous red coat. We all have to wear last years uniform for the first two weeks, until our new stuff comes in, which is actually really nice! Last years is a long white pleated skirt for girls, a white collared shirt, underneath a bright red blazer. It is very old school and is supposed to mimick the original red coat uniform from back in the first days of Butlins. The new uniform is a pretty little black dress underneath the bright red blazer. Both are very sharp, but different looks. After setting myself up with a uniform, I moved along to see my housing. Most of the staff that work at Butlins, not just the Reds, are housed on resort. We live in rows of old guest accomodations. They are old and beaten down, but livable and unique. I have an open living room and kitchen, which i share with two girls. We are only aloud to have a microwave pretty much, as they don't trust us with much else.. We have two little fridges, a TV and a toaster, which I'm not sure they we are even aloud to have. There are two rough looking red couches, and a small table to eat at. An old tv and some blank, cream colored walls. Three of us share one bathroom, which could definitely use some work. I share a room with another redcoat who just moved in today, her name is Zoe, and as I type this in the living room, shes sleeping already, its about 1 am here and i've just come in from the bar. My other room mate has her own bedroom, and she is in house keeping I believe.. Shes eastern european and has a son.. I don't remember her name, but she seems really nice and quiet. Right now I can hear someone snoring.. I really hope its not my room mate, cause I can't handle that, so I guess we will just have to see in the morning.. hahahaha.
When I got my welcome package I was given 6 free drink coupons to be used in Butlins. Currently we are closed to guests this week and are open on Friday onward for Englands 'half term', I guess this would be the Canadian 'March Break'. When the resort is closed, because there are so many workers living here (about 500), they open the bar for us so we all have a place to go. Its really quite cool, its like our own little village of people that all have something in common, Butlins. I met some other red coats today, and went out to the bar with Tiffany. She is a really nice girl and we had a good night. She introduced me to the people she knew, and I met others as well. Played some pool, had some drinks and called it a night at midnight when they closed. Tomorrow morning is my first day of training with something called 'Road Maps'. I start at 9am tomorrow, so I best be heading to bed now. Hope you all feel updated enough. The next few days will be quite interesting I believe, so stay tuned.
Cheers. xx
2/04/2012
The First Legal Evening
Warning: Plenty of JD's & coke, and 2am british time, on no sleep since I left Canada. Read with caution.
Currently, there is a video of Dad and I dancing to Footloose drunk, playing on the tv from someones cell phone. Tonight was absolutely outrageous! It started off at the main entertainment center in Butlins, and rounds of drinks for everyone. It is an adult weekend, meaning no kids, and lots of alcohal. The general feel is bachelor and bachelorette parties aka hen & stag parties. Not only is everyone drunk, they are all dressed up, its an outrageous version of Halloween. There are groups of flight attendents, wheres waldos, farmers, pilots, hippies, pacmans & ghosts, so many different outfits. They had a cover band start and it was fantastic, tons of good music and drinks for everyone. We were in the VIP section, and nearly no waiting on drinks. Then when the cover band was done, we went to the tent, and watched karoke, which was hilarious as well. Three drunk blokes sang the last song which was 'Dont stop Believin' by Journey. Made me think of home. Then we headed to a 'Silent Disco'. My reaction to this was 'what the hell is a silent disco?!' We walk in and are greeted by Redcoats. They gave us each a set of headphones. When you walk in, there is no music, and your headset plays two different setlists. So without the headphones on, it just looks like people drunkenly dancing in silence to very different beats. When you put the headset on, it all makes sense. It was absolutely hilarious and a great time! I don't even think we have anything like that in Canada. After this bar, we headed back to center stage for Belinda Carlisle. The lead singer of the Go Gos. She is now 54 years old, and my Dad is absolutely in love with her. He saw her when he was just 18 years old, and has loved her since. He had to get as close as he could, so he was front row singing and dancing to every song she sang. It was a great night of drinking, and dancing and soaking up some british culture. Tonight was my first night of legal drinking, and I absolutely used that opportunity. I'm off to bed so my body can maybe attempt to realize what country it is in. Tomorrow i'm going to go around Bognor Regis, the town and check things out. I move into my housing and train in just a few short days. I'm so happy with my decision to come here, and im so happy Dad came with me for the first week. Sweet dreams! xox
Currently, there is a video of Dad and I dancing to Footloose drunk, playing on the tv from someones cell phone. Tonight was absolutely outrageous! It started off at the main entertainment center in Butlins, and rounds of drinks for everyone. It is an adult weekend, meaning no kids, and lots of alcohal. The general feel is bachelor and bachelorette parties aka hen & stag parties. Not only is everyone drunk, they are all dressed up, its an outrageous version of Halloween. There are groups of flight attendents, wheres waldos, farmers, pilots, hippies, pacmans & ghosts, so many different outfits. They had a cover band start and it was fantastic, tons of good music and drinks for everyone. We were in the VIP section, and nearly no waiting on drinks. Then when the cover band was done, we went to the tent, and watched karoke, which was hilarious as well. Three drunk blokes sang the last song which was 'Dont stop Believin' by Journey. Made me think of home. Then we headed to a 'Silent Disco'. My reaction to this was 'what the hell is a silent disco?!' We walk in and are greeted by Redcoats. They gave us each a set of headphones. When you walk in, there is no music, and your headset plays two different setlists. So without the headphones on, it just looks like people drunkenly dancing in silence to very different beats. When you put the headset on, it all makes sense. It was absolutely hilarious and a great time! I don't even think we have anything like that in Canada. After this bar, we headed back to center stage for Belinda Carlisle. The lead singer of the Go Gos. She is now 54 years old, and my Dad is absolutely in love with her. He saw her when he was just 18 years old, and has loved her since. He had to get as close as he could, so he was front row singing and dancing to every song she sang. It was a great night of drinking, and dancing and soaking up some british culture. Tonight was my first night of legal drinking, and I absolutely used that opportunity. I'm off to bed so my body can maybe attempt to realize what country it is in. Tomorrow i'm going to go around Bognor Regis, the town and check things out. I move into my housing and train in just a few short days. I'm so happy with my decision to come here, and im so happy Dad came with me for the first week. Sweet dreams! xox
Fabulous Flight
As I sit here, on my flight to England, only three hours in, I can't help but look around and notice all the people around me. Where are they from? Where are they going? When they land.. is that home? Are the married or single? Are they flying here for a wedding or perhaps a funeral? The girl sitting next to me, is here with her boyfriend, I believe that he is Canadian, and she is definitely british. She moved to Canada 12 years ago, after she graduated from an Art School in England. She fell in love with Canada, and her boyfriend, and now has her own business there. She is going back home to visit her parents and brother. When she asked what I was doing, I gave her the details. Moving here for 2 years, with a British Working Visa, to live my dream of being a Red Coat at the famous Butlins resort. I have never seen a stranger so excited. She knew exactly what my job was, and was excited for me to start my journey. I lucked out, and got a good airplane buddy to sit next to.
Although, Im not quite sure why flights trigger this curiousity in me. It could be such a simple occasion. You go to an airport, show your passport a few times, flash a boarding pass to the odd attendant, pass through security basically naked, god forbid you have a belt on, then sit at the airport bar, enjoying your last canadian rum and coke, and board your flight. Once on, you awkwardly shuffle down an aisle made for people Size 8 or thinner.. hoping to God when you find your seat that it is A) window or aisle, B) not next to someone that smells like they were just at the gym for 4 hours. Now you are told to keep your seat in the upright position and turn off your cell phones, laptops, and what little connection of the rest of the world / entertainment you have with you. Then sit uncomfortably with a stranger basically on your lap, as you barely pay attention to the safety procedures. Count your blessings that you aren't in the emergency door aisle. Sorry ma'am but I don't feel like saving this whole airplane from dying because I don't know how to evacuate this S.O.B.. After this, they put on a Brad Pitt movie about Baseball, and you can share this tv with the other 24 people in your surrounding area. Should you not want to partake in this film, you can switch between channel 3, 7, 8, & 10. 3 being brutally painful french music, 7 is some good ol' country.. until they play a french country song? Uhmmmm, no thanks? 8 will give you the Macarena to start, then Hakuna Matata, followed by 'A Dream is a Wish your heart makes', just your basic Disney hits. Lastly, 10 is soothing piano, followed by opera. Lucky for me, my laptop is sitting at just about 2 hours battery life left.. I'm sitting on this plane for at least another 5. Now as I type this, the person sitting behind me is I guess attempting to give me a lower back massage.. if not, hes just being a straight up pain in my ass. Also, two seats over a man is snoring like its his day job. I have all of 6 inches for leg room, and elbow space? Ya right.
As this flight is coming from Canada, I get to enjoy the bilingual experience, with every sentence in english, it is followed by French. The flight attendants I'm guessing are native French speakers, because they all gossip amongst the aisles in French. Not to mention they are bitchy.. I can't imagine being a flight attendant is a difficult job, the least you could do is be friendly. I'd like to now move onto what I like to call 'Airplane Ass'. Urban dictionary that, it is a real term. This plane smells so goddam awful. Apparently when you are so high up in the air, gas gets released.. When I read that, I just laughed to myself and thought it was gross.. Now being in an airplane, I legitimately want to puke.. It smells SO BAD. Like what the hell.. go to the washroom, you nasty bunch of animals.
On a good note, I am sitting next to dad, enjoy an international glass of vino, and laughing together at how awful our 'myspace style' pictures are, and "people watching" the flight attendent rocking the frosted tips.. NSYNC, are you missing a member? I just finished my book 'The Five People You Meet In Heaven'. It is a great read and recommend it to anyone really. My favorite part, is when Eddie meets his fourth person in heaven, his wife Marguerite. As they are discussing their past, and how Eddie has been since she passed away, Marguerite tries to comfort him. She says, "Lost love is still love, Eddie. It takes a different form, thats all. You can't see their smile, or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it. Life has to end, love doesnt." I feel that this goes well with me leaving. I am leaving so many friends and family behind, I will be gone for a few years, but although you won't see me everyday, we have the good memories that were made, to last forever. I tried to leave on positive notes with everyone in my life, and I feel as though I did exactly that. My last few days in Canada were spent with my amazing room mate, my co workers, my family, my friends, all good people. I had the best going away party I could have asked for, and found it quite difficult to say good bye to people. Although its not good bye, its just see ya later.
Its almost 11pm Canadian time, and I'm sitting here wide awake, as most people surrounding me are now falling asleep. My old subway shop, is closing in just about an hour.. and its probably dead slow, leaving whoever working, to their lonely thoughts, and awful radio station. Once closed, I would have headed over to the other subway to see Dustin and Tyler until they closed shop at 2am. Instead, I'm sitting here, en route to an experience of a lifetime.. Am I sad? Yes. I have truly enjoyed the last few months in my life, and although my nights were repetitive, I still loved them. I loved the people I was with, and the simplicity of sitting at H. H. Knoll. talking for hours, knowing I had to go home, but would rather stay out until 4am with someone more important than my sleep that night. Am I happy? Absolutely. Although sad to leave good people, I am so excited that in just a few short hours, I will be back in England for the first time in years, pursuing my life goals. This is crazy, and I can't wait.
While driving to the airport, my favorite song came on the radio. We're Here for a Good Time, by Trooper. That was the end of my sadness. I'm here for a good time, not a long time, and I'm going to have a good time, cause the sun can't shine everyday. I have 3 hours and 44 minutes left of my flight, and its getting a bit rocky. So i'm going to grab my paper bag, and enjoy whats left of this flight.
Although, Im not quite sure why flights trigger this curiousity in me. It could be such a simple occasion. You go to an airport, show your passport a few times, flash a boarding pass to the odd attendant, pass through security basically naked, god forbid you have a belt on, then sit at the airport bar, enjoying your last canadian rum and coke, and board your flight. Once on, you awkwardly shuffle down an aisle made for people Size 8 or thinner.. hoping to God when you find your seat that it is A) window or aisle, B) not next to someone that smells like they were just at the gym for 4 hours. Now you are told to keep your seat in the upright position and turn off your cell phones, laptops, and what little connection of the rest of the world / entertainment you have with you. Then sit uncomfortably with a stranger basically on your lap, as you barely pay attention to the safety procedures. Count your blessings that you aren't in the emergency door aisle. Sorry ma'am but I don't feel like saving this whole airplane from dying because I don't know how to evacuate this S.O.B.. After this, they put on a Brad Pitt movie about Baseball, and you can share this tv with the other 24 people in your surrounding area. Should you not want to partake in this film, you can switch between channel 3, 7, 8, & 10. 3 being brutally painful french music, 7 is some good ol' country.. until they play a french country song? Uhmmmm, no thanks? 8 will give you the Macarena to start, then Hakuna Matata, followed by 'A Dream is a Wish your heart makes', just your basic Disney hits. Lastly, 10 is soothing piano, followed by opera. Lucky for me, my laptop is sitting at just about 2 hours battery life left.. I'm sitting on this plane for at least another 5. Now as I type this, the person sitting behind me is I guess attempting to give me a lower back massage.. if not, hes just being a straight up pain in my ass. Also, two seats over a man is snoring like its his day job. I have all of 6 inches for leg room, and elbow space? Ya right.
As this flight is coming from Canada, I get to enjoy the bilingual experience, with every sentence in english, it is followed by French. The flight attendants I'm guessing are native French speakers, because they all gossip amongst the aisles in French. Not to mention they are bitchy.. I can't imagine being a flight attendant is a difficult job, the least you could do is be friendly. I'd like to now move onto what I like to call 'Airplane Ass'. Urban dictionary that, it is a real term. This plane smells so goddam awful. Apparently when you are so high up in the air, gas gets released.. When I read that, I just laughed to myself and thought it was gross.. Now being in an airplane, I legitimately want to puke.. It smells SO BAD. Like what the hell.. go to the washroom, you nasty bunch of animals.
On a good note, I am sitting next to dad, enjoy an international glass of vino, and laughing together at how awful our 'myspace style' pictures are, and "people watching" the flight attendent rocking the frosted tips.. NSYNC, are you missing a member? I just finished my book 'The Five People You Meet In Heaven'. It is a great read and recommend it to anyone really. My favorite part, is when Eddie meets his fourth person in heaven, his wife Marguerite. As they are discussing their past, and how Eddie has been since she passed away, Marguerite tries to comfort him. She says, "Lost love is still love, Eddie. It takes a different form, thats all. You can't see their smile, or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it. Life has to end, love doesnt." I feel that this goes well with me leaving. I am leaving so many friends and family behind, I will be gone for a few years, but although you won't see me everyday, we have the good memories that were made, to last forever. I tried to leave on positive notes with everyone in my life, and I feel as though I did exactly that. My last few days in Canada were spent with my amazing room mate, my co workers, my family, my friends, all good people. I had the best going away party I could have asked for, and found it quite difficult to say good bye to people. Although its not good bye, its just see ya later.
Its almost 11pm Canadian time, and I'm sitting here wide awake, as most people surrounding me are now falling asleep. My old subway shop, is closing in just about an hour.. and its probably dead slow, leaving whoever working, to their lonely thoughts, and awful radio station. Once closed, I would have headed over to the other subway to see Dustin and Tyler until they closed shop at 2am. Instead, I'm sitting here, en route to an experience of a lifetime.. Am I sad? Yes. I have truly enjoyed the last few months in my life, and although my nights were repetitive, I still loved them. I loved the people I was with, and the simplicity of sitting at H. H. Knoll. talking for hours, knowing I had to go home, but would rather stay out until 4am with someone more important than my sleep that night. Am I happy? Absolutely. Although sad to leave good people, I am so excited that in just a few short hours, I will be back in England for the first time in years, pursuing my life goals. This is crazy, and I can't wait.
While driving to the airport, my favorite song came on the radio. We're Here for a Good Time, by Trooper. That was the end of my sadness. I'm here for a good time, not a long time, and I'm going to have a good time, cause the sun can't shine everyday. I have 3 hours and 44 minutes left of my flight, and its getting a bit rocky. So i'm going to grab my paper bag, and enjoy whats left of this flight.
1/30/2012
New Chapter
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end."
It is so strange to me.. its almost not real. In just two short days, I will be leaving my small town for who knows how many years. I feel like I have waited forever for this moment to come. This is my university or college, this is my world of work, this is my next step in life. I am finally moving on, and growing up. It is the end of a chapter, a turning of the page, to start something completely new. People have asked me how my parents feel about me leaving.. Its hard to say. I assume they feel like most parents do when they send their kids off into the big bad world. Scared, nervous, excited, happy, sad, anxious. I know that my parents have raised me with good morals and life lessons, I also know that they have good faith that I will use what they have taught me and make good choices. But like any parent would be, they are scared or nervous for what I will have to face on my own. The decisions I will make without asking them first, or the people that I will meet, the unfamiliar faces that they won't know. When people ask how I am feeling about leaving, if I'm excited or nervous.. its hard to say. Depends on my mood that day really. But to generalize.. I am the most excited I've been for anything in my life, I've worked hard and done what I had to do to get this experience to happen. I'm nervous that I won't be liked.. I do not know a single soul that will be working with me as a 'Red Coat' and I am worried that I might not be liked. I will absolutely stick out like a sore thumb, with my canadian accent, ridiculous amount of plaid shirts, and of course, my cowboy hat. I'm sad that I am leaving my family, two years will go by fast, for sure.. But not seeing my mom or dad, going to Toronto to visit Nicholas, or watching my younger siblings grow over the next two years, will be very difficult. I feel as though I am at a great place in my life, I have a full time job, a good circle of friends, a fabulous room mate, and a loving family. Which makes me sad again, because I am ending this chapter of my life, with good hopes that my next chapter will be just as happy. I know that the people who mean most in my life, will put the effort in to stay in touch while I'm gone.. but no matter what, when I come home, things will be different. People will move on, relationships will change. You can never step in the same river twice, so I will just have to hope for the best.
I have said most of my goodbyes to people, and I just have one last, big get together with a bunch of family and friends on Thursday. It will be good to see everyone one last time before I leave, then I'm on my flight the next night. Dad is coming with me for the first 10 days, to set me up and visit some friends. It will be a longgggg day of travelling. I am taking an overnight flight on Friday night, arriving on Saturday morning. Unfortunately my working visa doesn't allow me to be in England until February 5th. Yup, you are reading that correctly.. I cannot be in England until Sunday. I can't wait to sit in the airport for 18 hours, (I am not kidding at all), until it becomes Sunday. My 12 hour day of travelling, just jumped to a full 26. Then once I am finally allowed to step on British land, my journey will begin.
For those of you who don't know what I am about to spend the next few years doing.. just go to www.butlins.com I will be working and living at that resort. I am known as a 'Red Coat'.. which essentially is a host to the resort. Doing things from the entertainment shows at night, or the kids activities during the day. I won't have time to update the blog before I leave, so wish my luck, and you'll all hear from me on the other side.
Stay tuned, coming up next.. Europe.
It is so strange to me.. its almost not real. In just two short days, I will be leaving my small town for who knows how many years. I feel like I have waited forever for this moment to come. This is my university or college, this is my world of work, this is my next step in life. I am finally moving on, and growing up. It is the end of a chapter, a turning of the page, to start something completely new. People have asked me how my parents feel about me leaving.. Its hard to say. I assume they feel like most parents do when they send their kids off into the big bad world. Scared, nervous, excited, happy, sad, anxious. I know that my parents have raised me with good morals and life lessons, I also know that they have good faith that I will use what they have taught me and make good choices. But like any parent would be, they are scared or nervous for what I will have to face on my own. The decisions I will make without asking them first, or the people that I will meet, the unfamiliar faces that they won't know. When people ask how I am feeling about leaving, if I'm excited or nervous.. its hard to say. Depends on my mood that day really. But to generalize.. I am the most excited I've been for anything in my life, I've worked hard and done what I had to do to get this experience to happen. I'm nervous that I won't be liked.. I do not know a single soul that will be working with me as a 'Red Coat' and I am worried that I might not be liked. I will absolutely stick out like a sore thumb, with my canadian accent, ridiculous amount of plaid shirts, and of course, my cowboy hat. I'm sad that I am leaving my family, two years will go by fast, for sure.. But not seeing my mom or dad, going to Toronto to visit Nicholas, or watching my younger siblings grow over the next two years, will be very difficult. I feel as though I am at a great place in my life, I have a full time job, a good circle of friends, a fabulous room mate, and a loving family. Which makes me sad again, because I am ending this chapter of my life, with good hopes that my next chapter will be just as happy. I know that the people who mean most in my life, will put the effort in to stay in touch while I'm gone.. but no matter what, when I come home, things will be different. People will move on, relationships will change. You can never step in the same river twice, so I will just have to hope for the best.
I have said most of my goodbyes to people, and I just have one last, big get together with a bunch of family and friends on Thursday. It will be good to see everyone one last time before I leave, then I'm on my flight the next night. Dad is coming with me for the first 10 days, to set me up and visit some friends. It will be a longgggg day of travelling. I am taking an overnight flight on Friday night, arriving on Saturday morning. Unfortunately my working visa doesn't allow me to be in England until February 5th. Yup, you are reading that correctly.. I cannot be in England until Sunday. I can't wait to sit in the airport for 18 hours, (I am not kidding at all), until it becomes Sunday. My 12 hour day of travelling, just jumped to a full 26. Then once I am finally allowed to step on British land, my journey will begin.
For those of you who don't know what I am about to spend the next few years doing.. just go to www.butlins.com I will be working and living at that resort. I am known as a 'Red Coat'.. which essentially is a host to the resort. Doing things from the entertainment shows at night, or the kids activities during the day. I won't have time to update the blog before I leave, so wish my luck, and you'll all hear from me on the other side.
Stay tuned, coming up next.. Europe.
1/18/2012
Plan B
As this time of year rolls around again, people graduating highschool are choosing if and which university or college they will go to. Some will chose Brock or Niagara to stay close to home, some 12b to stay even closer, some the world of work, because mama ain't payin' those bills anymore, some europe because the land of wine and pasta beats Port, and some will just struggle with making a decision at all. At the young age of 17 & 18, we can at times feel so mature, and wise, yet so undecisive and childish. How are we supposed to choose what career we want to go into for the rest of our lives, when half of us can't even vote or drink. Some will choose college because their parents will foot the bill on there 2 years of alcohal binging blackout nights and failure. Some will choose university because they busted their ass in highschool for that 97.2 average and they have wanted nothing more than to study 'earth and planetary sciences'. Some will go back to 12b, or 'victory lap' because nothing beats another year of overly priced cafetaria foods, skipping class to play speed in the library, losing at OFSAA and talking grade 11 chemistry. Some will choose work because they don't know what they want to do yet, but they know it doesn't involve another year of highschool, and they need to start saving because real life is expensive.
For those of you nearing graduating, the end of 12b, your first year of real work, or the end of your european working visa, please don't stress. Yes, your parents might have graduated highschool, gone to university, and have been an accountant for the past 40 years of their life, but that doesn't mean that you have to do that to. Who says you need to go into school right away? Why don't you go out and do what YOU want to do? If you aren't ready for school, then don't go. If you feel that you are ready, and you go but it doesn't work out.. thats okay too. We are only kids, the best time to make mistakes is now. We have many years to learn and fix them. If you don't get into the 'school of your dreams', maybe thats because there will be better opportunities in other places, maybe just not the opportunities you were thinking of.
When I graduated highschool, I knew without a doubt in my mind, that there was no way in hell I was going back for another year of it. I loved my highschool years, it came with many parties, lessons, boys, drama, ups & downs, committees, dances, detentions, awards, all of your typical highschool stuff. But after 4 years, I had had enough. People said that it was going to be the best four years of my life. To the people that feel that way, I'm sorry. If those are the best four years of your life, you either didn't go to lakeshore, or life just didn't get any better for you. For me, life has already been better since highschool, and it will only continue too. I chose to go into work to save up money so I could backpack and travel through Europe. Working 2-3 jobs, was not me living my dream, it was me understanding that sometimes it takes a little bit of hard work to get to your dream. Europe. This was my dream. This is my dream. And this is also, my future.
I wish that you make choices with comfort and ease. Have comfort in knowing that you are not alone, so many other people are struggling with the same things that you are. Reach out your hand, and someone will help. No one can make the choice for you, that would be too easy. Your becoming and adult now, and with that comes choices. Not every choice you choose will be right, but you have to learn somehow. Just know that if plan A doesn't work out, remember there are 25 other letters in the alphabet.
For those of you nearing graduating, the end of 12b, your first year of real work, or the end of your european working visa, please don't stress. Yes, your parents might have graduated highschool, gone to university, and have been an accountant for the past 40 years of their life, but that doesn't mean that you have to do that to. Who says you need to go into school right away? Why don't you go out and do what YOU want to do? If you aren't ready for school, then don't go. If you feel that you are ready, and you go but it doesn't work out.. thats okay too. We are only kids, the best time to make mistakes is now. We have many years to learn and fix them. If you don't get into the 'school of your dreams', maybe thats because there will be better opportunities in other places, maybe just not the opportunities you were thinking of.
When I graduated highschool, I knew without a doubt in my mind, that there was no way in hell I was going back for another year of it. I loved my highschool years, it came with many parties, lessons, boys, drama, ups & downs, committees, dances, detentions, awards, all of your typical highschool stuff. But after 4 years, I had had enough. People said that it was going to be the best four years of my life. To the people that feel that way, I'm sorry. If those are the best four years of your life, you either didn't go to lakeshore, or life just didn't get any better for you. For me, life has already been better since highschool, and it will only continue too. I chose to go into work to save up money so I could backpack and travel through Europe. Working 2-3 jobs, was not me living my dream, it was me understanding that sometimes it takes a little bit of hard work to get to your dream. Europe. This was my dream. This is my dream. And this is also, my future.
I wish that you make choices with comfort and ease. Have comfort in knowing that you are not alone, so many other people are struggling with the same things that you are. Reach out your hand, and someone will help. No one can make the choice for you, that would be too easy. Your becoming and adult now, and with that comes choices. Not every choice you choose will be right, but you have to learn somehow. Just know that if plan A doesn't work out, remember there are 25 other letters in the alphabet.
1/14/2012
Parallel Lines
Parallel lines have a lot in common, but they never meet.. Ever. You might think that's sad, but every other pair of lines meets once and then drifts apart forever. This situation makes me think of life and the people you meet in life. How sometimes we wish we could be with someone forever and other times we wish we had never met a person in the first place. Parallel lines represent all of the people in your life that you could have met, but just never did for whatever reason, wrong timing, wasn't meant to be, anything. Other lines, help to show that we only have people in our lives for a certain amount of time, just crossing paths. No one can live forever, and not everyone you meet in your life, will be there until the end. Some people are just there for the good times, a drink at the bar, or a birthday party; others are there through work at a seasonal retail store, or bussing tables at a busy hotel; some are family, your parents, siblings, cousins; some you met through highschool, sports teams, lunch tables, business class, relay for life committee, etc. No one will be there forever, and with each person, comes a lesson, (or many). Your parents raised you with good morals and many lessons on life, your teachers taught you about specific subjects, but some did more than just your textbook lessons, your friends show you how to have a good time, and your boyfriend teaches you trust... With each person comes a new lesson.
Unfortunately sometimes this is hard to see. Sometimes when someone hurts you, it isn't the lesson in life that you see, it is just the pain and heartache, and wishing that things could go back to how they were, perhaps never having met that person. Parallel lines. Some fights are not fixable, sometimes you need to just be happy with the good times you had with that person, take the lesson learned and move on.
Enjoy your friends that are there for a good time, don't be upset that they won't be there forever, just be happy for the time you have with them. Appreciate the lessons your family has taught you, because without those, you wouldn't be the person you are today. And last but not least, remember that not everyone is meant to stay in your life forever, some are just there long enough to teach you a lesson you needed to learn.
Unfortunately sometimes this is hard to see. Sometimes when someone hurts you, it isn't the lesson in life that you see, it is just the pain and heartache, and wishing that things could go back to how they were, perhaps never having met that person. Parallel lines. Some fights are not fixable, sometimes you need to just be happy with the good times you had with that person, take the lesson learned and move on.
Enjoy your friends that are there for a good time, don't be upset that they won't be there forever, just be happy for the time you have with them. Appreciate the lessons your family has taught you, because without those, you wouldn't be the person you are today. And last but not least, remember that not everyone is meant to stay in your life forever, some are just there long enough to teach you a lesson you needed to learn.
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