i am back...

...finally. i know, and i apologize. i have not posted in over 2 months. i know you are all on your seat in anticipation of my next post, so apologies for such a long wait. i lost access to a private computer when i moved from Chingford, living with Andrew, to King's Cross. however, a little over a week ago i was finally able to purchase a lapatop. this begs the question, why i have not posted sooner. well, the answer is quite simple. Leah was over when i purchased the computer, work has been crazy the last 3 weeks, and Kim came the day after Leah left.

Leah appeared to have a good time. we were able to go to a pretty cool market in camden. there leah found a scarf she liked but did not purchase it even though i told her she should, now she has remorse. ha. we also went to a couple restaurants that were good. we went to see a musical and she was able to meet the majority of the people i hangout with here. unfortunately, i had to work all week, but fortunately she and one of her friends were able to explore the city and explore outside the city together. they actually were able to go to places i have not had a chance to go to yet.

Work has been crazy. i was in Court 3 times in three weeks and had to give evidence one of the days. i was actually cross-examined for 3 hours last week. not even remotely fun, but i did gain useful insight into english law and procedure.

Kim came last saturday. we went to a different market and she was able to meet up with a couple of her friends that she taught with in Korea. i had to work monday and tuesday, but we went to a concert on Tuesday evening and we took off to Edinburgh on wednesday afternoon. as i write we are on the train back from Scotland. she gave me a dose of my own medicine, sleeping quite a bit on the train. we have a pretty busy weekend planned and she leaves on monday. i has all gone so fast, and i will miss her terribly.

well, i will try to start posting much more regularly. a lot has happened since my last post so i will try to update more frequently.

do do do

A bit of news to report. I looked at a flat last evening and I am planning on moving in. It is a very central area, between King's Cross and the Angel tube station. Even though it is further from my work, it will actually take less time in transit to and fro. It will be nice to live close to everything, whereas I am currently on the outskirts both where I am living and working. It has been great to live where I have been, everyone has been more than kind and I have met a lot of cool people. Having said that, there is no way I would want to intrude when Andrew and Sara come back after their wedding in February. The new flat will consist of one Irish, one Australian, one Canadian, and myself. Should be good.
As for obama-mania, it is alive and well over here. I think, more than ever, globally speaking, he has more and higher expectations from the populace. Countries in Africa are sincerely thinking he is going to save them, Americans think he is going to rectify all the mistakes of the bush admin, and Europeans think he is going to be a diplomatic superstar. I am hopeful, but cognizant that this is an overwhelming burden to carry. It is interesting that there is no racism toward him over here. It is all to often that I would here or see racist propaganda in the states or someone claiming that he did not deserve to be where he is because he is Muslim (which he is obviously not, and even if he was, what is the big deal. Not like he would want to or be able to instate Sharia Law.) one thing the English do well is report the news objectively as they can. Yes you can find sources that are trash, but they are recognised as such. Bbc, the times, the guardian, all try to report on the events and not their opinions of the events or their interpretations of the events. I guess it basically feels more authentic than in the states. Enough of that.
As for my football match last week, we won. I played decently enough, but certainly not well. Nothing else to report, really. I will try to post new blogs Monday mornings.

The time has come...

...for me toplsy in my first football match over here. I have not played since July, so it ought to be interesting. I am playing with one if andrew's friends. Andrew told me to keep my moth shut unless I wanted to get stabbed in the car park afterwards. Ha. Needless to say, the Brits take football seriously. Anyways, it ought to make for an interesting experience.
On a gross note, the trains and tube here have fabric coushioned (sp) seats. Andrew was telingme that a couple years ago the Transport for London (TFL) did forensic analysis on one of the carriages. TheTFL reported that they found several different bodily fluids, including every blood type. The also found traces of every illicit substance known to humanity. The best part, however, was that the TFL found a type of bacteria that had never been seen before. This is where I spend two hours of my day. Think twice before giving me a hug next time.
To end on a less disgusting note, I went to the British Museum a couple weekends ago. Free. They had artifacts dating back around 1 million years. The rosseta stone was on display, and they had an incredible assortment of ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Chinese artifacts. They also had specific rooms dedicated to the history of a specific people (ie. The japan room). Not without controversy. Apparently museums in Athens and Cairo want their history back. The English, for the most part refuse to return relics b/c they claim they saved them from being vandalized, stoles, or lost to history. I suppose I can see both sides of the argument.

And so...

...it is back to work. I had an enjoyable break. I had the past 2 Thursdays and Fridays off. It kind of was crappy to work Xmas eve and nye, but having two 4 day weekends was sweet. For Xmas I went out with Andrews family to dinner, which was really nice. His fiancé, and kim's roomate, sara was in town as well. We regaled them with stories about how machines do all of the work and humans just eat grapes and recite verse to each other all day. About how people get made fun of if they are not a millionaire. You know, that sort of thing, the truth.
Work is going ok, it was actually quite busy iced the holiday period. This week has been even busier. Andrew and I started our workout program on Monday. All we did over the holiday was overindulge. Anyways, he wanted to get more fit for his wedding in feb. I just felt the need to workout. Psychologically, as well as physically,I tend to feel much better. On a somewhat humorous note, at the gym, all the weights are in kg. I am thinking about getting an lb to kg conversion chart tattooed on my right forearm.
The weather here has been fridged. There was snow covering the ground on Monday, which is pretty unusual. It has been cold enough for it for the snow to stay. I guess it has been the coldest winter since 1996. It has been -3 c every morning. It is supposed to warm up. Well, work calls. I will be posting more often now that I know I can post from my phone.

mainly an explanation of english football

Well, this was my first full week at my job, and it saw two people leave.  One American, who had been there for 6 months and one brit that had been there for 2 years, terminated their contracts.  Now, because there is a governmental mandate to fill all positions, we our organization will have to hire 2 new people.  Our team will consist of 4 people that have started within the last couple of weeks.  It is nice because I will have a little bit of seniority, but it will be tough because I will have to take more responsibility much quicker. 

On a frustrating note, I still have not received my check card from my bank over here.  I get paid tomorrow, but will not be able to get money because I will be working all day and there is no way for me to get money out because my card is not here.  Just has been really annoying.

There is a big football match today, the team Andrew and I support, Arsenal, are playing the league leaders, Liverpool.  Arsenal are from north London, and the stadium actually has its own tube stop.  http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/standard-tube-map.pdf

Piccadilly line, north, zone 2. if anyone cares, which you probably don’t.  Anyways, Andrew and I went to try and scalp tickets the first weekend I was here, but they were quite expensive and a bit dodgy.   We ended up trying to watch a game in the pub, but nobody was showing the game.  He explained that all league games used to be played at 3 p.m. on Saturdays.  The Football Association (FA) made it illegal to televise the games, wanting people to get out and go to the games.  It is a law that has existed ever since television was introduced.  Now some games are played earlier and later than 3 on Saturdays, some on Sunday, and occasionally one on a Monday or Wednesday.  However, the majority of league games are sill played at 3 p.m on Saturday and these games are not televised.  To get around this rule, pubs have bought satellite tv subscriptions and often televise the games for the public on an Arabic, East Asian, or African channel.  Unfortunately, the FA and the government are cracking down on this illegal broadcasting of games.  I came over thinking that every game played would be televised, but that is not the case.  Initially I was annoyed, but having it explained, I gained an understanding of how important football is the brits and how large a role it plays in their social and economic life.  In a sense, I came to respect this tradition and actually gained a greater understanding of the game. 

Also, on a good note, I think I may have an in to play on a Sunday league team.  One of Andrew’s mates captains a team and is looking for a centre forward.  Not my preferred position, but I would probably play in any position at the moment. Well, I am off to the game.   

yeah, yeah

…yeah, I know it has been quite a while. However, due to popular demand, I post again. I just skimmed the last post, and quite a bit has happened. First, yes I got a job. I pretty much rip teary-eyed children from their loving mothers and fathers, and place them in foster care. Ha, not quite. It is a position some what similar to child protective services in the states. Basically, if a complaint or allegation of abuse comes in from a school, a family member, another social service agency, or even anonymously, I go out to meet the care giver or schedule the care giver to come into our offices. When that happens I perform a multi-axial assessment of current bio-psycho-social functioning. The assessment will hopefully illuminate areas in which social services can provide more support to the parent, family, or child. After all of that I would refer the parent, family, or child to the appropriate services. Everyone good?
It was not the ideal job, or what I foresaw myself doing, but I am kind of glad I took it for numerous reasons. First, every other American I have talked to that was a social worker was looking for a job for at least 6 weeks before finding on in London. Oh, I forgot to mention that my interview was within a week of me arriving, and they offered me the job on the spot. Fortunate. Secondly, I have never worked with this population, so it is something new. Thirdly, it will give me work experience in britan and put money in my pocket (they pay decently). Finally, I though I would really get on with the people I work with, and if last Friday evening was any indication, I was correct.
I work with a couple Americans, a couple Brits, a Thai (I am going to make her cook for me), and my boss is a crazy Kiwi. We all went out last Friday, because it was a girls last day and generally had a good time. It is interesting to be in central London around 5 o’clock pm, it is quite a different sight than in the states.
Anyways, cultural differences. After my interview last Monday, I walked down by the Thames, saw Westminster Abbey, The parliament building, Big Ben, most of the notable bridges, the London eye, and most touristy stuff. I will post pix soon.
I really don’t feel like writing anymore, but I will try to update more frequently, with shorter posts.

today...

...is a new day. today, what to say about today. Today I started setting up interviews. I spoke to a potential employer on the phone (I was going to write on the tele, but I realized I am not sure if tele refers to the telephone or the television, I would hate to have you think I talked to someone over the tv), in which I realized that some brits have thicker accents than others. “Pardon me?” came out of my mouth more that a couple times. Anyways, it is nice to feel like I am moving toward employment. I would not want to be on the dole. Look it up. Not that I am entitled to it anyways.
A great plus to being over here is I get to sort through which football matches I am going to watch for the day. Unfortunately, I watched arsenal loose to burnly last evening. Not a big deal b/c it was not part of league play or in any important tournament.
Also, I am going to take a moment to make a plug on apple’s behalf. I mentioned, in my last post, that Andrew is letting me use his old I-phone. Well it is fantastic, especially since I am so far away from the states. The phone is linked up with my e-mail account, facebook account, as well as serving as an I-pod and camera. Also, the phone contains map, currency exchange, and stock updating applications. I plan on downloading a map for London’s tube and transit system, not that I will need it.
Anyways, I got just under 13 hours of sleep last nite. I woke up around 9:30 feeling good, but thought a little more sleep would not hurt, and then I slept until 13:05. I don’t think jet lag will be an issue anymore. On a side note, I feel lucid and sharp today, something I have not felt in some time. The hypothesis I am stating is that sleep really does affect mental function and performance. Who knew? Well that is all you get for today.