Sunday, April 28, 2013

GPS Renewal, Palaces, Gifts, and Movies

Worked four days last week; three at Gaayhurst, one at Three Bridges. This week I worked all five days. Monday I was sent to Rosedale. Was supposed to be a teacher but mistake was made and ended up as a TA. Bright side, since it was a mistake, I'll be getting paid my teaching rate, thank the gods. Rest of the week I spent at Gayhurst. So, needless to say, I'm a happy camper.

Speaking of work, last Wednesday my consultant Craig called me. He told how Moynul, the consultant who regularly sends me out to Slough, Three Bridges, and Gayhurst, was pleased with my work of late and so he was offering to renew my GPS contract for next year. I, naturally, accepted. I'd prefer a full time position, of course, but it's nice to have the safety net of a Plan B firmly in place.


Went out with Justin last Friday after school. We met up in Shepherd's Bush to see Olympus has Fallen and to grab supper, once again at Nando's. Movie made one thing very apparent; the world needs more Gerard Butler movies. It had some twists, some surprises, but at its core was basically your basic action flick; explosions, gun fights, cliche bad guy, and triumphant formerly-broken-but-now-restored hero. Not to mention it also had Morgan Freeman and Aaron Eckhart thrown in. Oh, and once again, just like with GI JOE: Retaliation, Korea was picked on. All-in-all, it was pretty great. Found out a few days later though that Justin plans to leave London and move on to cheaper pastures. So, that's that. Sigh.


On Saturday, Christa and I went to one of the last palaces our membership gives us access to; Hampton Court Palace. We had to meet up at Waterloo and take the National Rail out to Hampton Court. Coming out of the station, we walked down and over a bridge to where the palace sat. Once upon a time (and by that I mean c. 1514), it built for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII; in 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the palace was passed to the King. The King, of course, went on to make it bigger and better - a tradition carried on by his successors. William III, for instance, went all out trying to have Hampton Court rival Versailles and ended with a palace that's half Tudor, half Baroque, but all made from the same pink brick.


Know what else Hampton Court has? Freaking awesome gardens (well, several, really and most with gardens and statues incorporated), an actual maze (which we navigated - turns out to be one of those where you get to the center and then back out again...I was hoping it would be a bit more complex but, hey, a maze is a maze), the historic real tennis court, and the huge grape vine, claimed to be the largest in the world (which has its own room and the area surrounding it is to be left uncultivated so the vine can have it all to itself).


This Friday I went to see Iron Man 3. It was epic. I laughed, I cried, I screamed. The after-credits scene changes the whole context of the film but until that point I was about ready to have a total meltdown. It was a phenomenal movie, totally in keeping with the expectations the previous movies had set. Makes me very eager to see what Marvel will turn out next. Bar is set pretty high for Thor in November. I realize I'm a bit bias - Iron Man is one of my favourite Marvel heroes and Robert Downey Jr. has totally nailed him in the films. Plus, you know, I'm a total nerd when it comes to JARVIS; I mean, heck, what's NOT to love about a sarcastic AI interface?! But, given what I've heard about the reviews and the box office on this puppy, the rest of the world seems to agree with me. Total. Epic.

Oh! And you know what I got in the mail yesterday from Izzy? This:


She's been mentioning a package being in-transit for awhile now. I was beginning to think she was kidding. But, nope, at long last it arrived! I love the colours in the scarf and I've decided to name the bear Odysseus (Odie for short) in honour of his great journey.

And there you have it, folks! My last 2 weeks, LOL.

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