New year - new career!

Well, my Canadian re-invention is now gathering pace; after a whole year of impatiently waiting for my work permit (and trust me, it's been a tough year - selfless acts of volunteering and hanging out at coffee shops can really be quite exhausting) , I am on the verge of a green light from Immigration. My work permit will be here in the next few weeks!

Not one to hang around and wait for the mountain to come to Moses (or whatever that saying is) I have been typically proactive and already managed to line myself up with a job. The offer is on the table, and imminently I will be... the new Customer Service Recruitment Consultant for Randstad Canada! Not quite as high-flying as my previous incarnation but, as Mikey would say, 'girl gotta eat' and all things considered it's a pretty decent start. Combined with the current paid Ops Consultancy work I'm doing for 'A Loving Spoonful', pretty soon I'll be able to resume my role as Spender Extraordinaire. Vancouver's shopping district won't know what's hit it...

The Geek Within...

Capt. Lee Adama (left) - my future husband. Once I get rid of that bitch Pvt. Starbuck (right).


Well, it's finally happened. I have lost the precious few remaining shards of credibility I had left and become the ultimate hypocrite in one foul swoop. No, I haven't converted to Celineaism, that brain-washing religion of worshiping at the altar of crap music (which would necessitate a self-inflicted bullet wound to the temple rather than a mere confession via the world of Blogging). Not quite so shocking, but almost as shameful...

So - after a whole year of inflicting my favourite things on Mikey (from endless Girls Aloud-athons and countless horror movies to a rather hilarious visit to a local theme park and some ill-advised roller coaster riding, not to mention a year-end climax of seasons 1, 2 and 3 of 'Footballer's Wives') I thought it only fair to show some willing and endure (sorry, 'experience') some of his dearest obsessions. After all, marriage isn't just about love and trust and fights over who sleeps in the wet patch...

Of all possible methods of torture (and trust me, the boy has many - listening to a whole 'Dixie Chicks' album, anyone?) I finally settled on giving one of his several geek DVD's a go. Now, I'd rather give Jo Brand a bed-bath than sit through even ten minutes of his 'Star Trek' collection so I opted instead to give 'Battlestar Gallactica' a go. I bought him three series's worth for Christmas (the is the new one, not the old one) and figured I could play the dutiful husband and at least sit through two episodes before playing the 'I tried my hardest but failed anyway' card. And there was also a hot guy on the cover in a tight uniform so I thought that might go some way to nulling the pain....

You know what's coming next, don't you?

"Look into my eyes, John... You WILL become addicted..."
.

Sweet baby Jesus and the orphans, I am hooked. I am a Sci-Fi geek. I cannot hide the shameful truth any longer. This is more than just 'liking'. This is full-on back-to-back episodes every night of the week, canceling social plans to settle in for the next installment and even - God, no! - spending hours discussing the 'philosophy of Battlestar' over cafe breakfasts. We still have an entire season to go and already I am feeling the cold stab of dread at the prospect of running out of episodes...

OK, seriously. Someone needs to come to Canada and rescue me. I have become this body-snatched version of my former self who actually has serious conversations about a race of human-imitating robots called 'Cylons' and whether or not it's feasible that they have a religious belief-system.

And you know what's even worse?

I kinda like it...

Merry Christmas, eh?

Ah, Christmas on planet John. 'tis a joy indeed. HRH Cheryl Tweedy (yes I know, she's now Cheryl Cole but in my heart she'll always be the lippy, cheaply highlighted, toilet attendant-abusing, deliciously common Ms Tweedy to me) sits graciously atop the tree this year, resplendant in her pink sequined boob-tube and gaudy white faux-leather jacket, whilst Mr Brittonfeld himself languishes on the sofa, snuggled in to the other Mr Brittonfeld (who, it emerges, has THE weirdest collection of Christmas music ever; Loreena McKinnet, anyone?) and chugging happily on a pint of Bailey's. You can take the girl out of Leyland...

Had a very nice early Christmas present as well - the man from Immigration... he say YES!

Well in theory, anyway. I've finally, after nine months of waiting, received my first stage approval from the Canadian Government! Hip hip friggin' hooray! What it basically means is, providing my drug-using, kiddie-fiddling, serial-killing past doesn't show up in my police checks, I'm guaranteed to be accepted as an official permanant resident. It also means I am now approved to work. Michael practically held a gun to my head whilst I filled out my work permit application and frog-marched me to the post box. I think someone is eager for me to start earning some coin...

So, by the end of January at the latest I'll be once again clocking in with the work slaves.

Oh shit.

Merry Christmas one and all!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

As you can see, Vancouver has been getting some pretty freakish weather of late. It snows on the North Shore mountains from November until March, but downtown very rarely gets a snowfall and even when it does it's a flurry that has normally completely vanished within a few hours.

You can only imagine the effect, then, of 25cms of snow within 48 hours - if England goes into panic mode when the temperature drops below freezing, Vancouver in a snowstorm goes totally postal. Noone can get to work because the buses aren't running and the roads aren't gritted people are falling over left right and centre because the sidewalks are the same. It's minor chaos.

Except, of course, for people like me who aren't affected by such annoyances as work and get to enjoy the snow on a whole other level. I've spent the last two days bundled up and trekking all over Stanley Park - lapping up the beauty, building retarded snowmen and exchanging smug pleasantries with all the other lucky sods for whom the snow is a pleasure rather than a chore (i.e. retirees, non-working parents and tourists). I have spent a big part of the last few months whinging about not working but the last couple of days has reminded me to enjoy it whilst I still can...

The photo with the mountain is the view from our balcony; the ariel shot is of Lost Lagoon from the roof of our building. If all it ever did in Vancouver was snow in the winter and sunshine in the summer this truly would be the ultimate paradise. Unfortunately there's the rain, which makes the UK seem like the Gobi desert... Still, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Not even a bungee-jumping date with Madonna :-)

Announcements: Births

Mr and Mrs Brittonfeld are delighted to announce the latest addition to the family.

Name: Gertie Golf. AKA: Gertrude (on Sundays or when she's been naughty) and GiGi (pet name)

Breed: 1997 VW Golf K2 edition (check out those heated seats and oh-so-handy roof-rack/ski holders)

Weight: A healthy 3000 lbs

Mother and daughter doing fine (although Mother a bit stressed as she's never driven a left hand drive manual transmission before...)