Windows Fran needs a new anti-virus

I can't remember if I mentioned before that I've been feeling like shit since Sunday. Anyway, today Jesse (my senior RA who turned 20 yesterday :O ) pretty much told me I was going to student health services because I look so rough. I survived the walk back up the hill, saw a Canadian, and then got charged $63 for the pleasure of being told that I have a virus and there's nothing they can do for me except tell me to take paracetamol and hide in bed. Gah. When I'm more alive, I'll figure out how I can claim this back on the insurance.

ION, I got my bank card today :D

Today was orientation. I haven't met a single Brit yet, and they don't have many partner unis. I'm the only one from UEA and they're also partnered with Leeds, City, RH, Lancaster, and Surrey. There are lots of other Europeans here (particularly Germans) and a shit load of Americans (who I already want to slap in to the next millenium.)

I really hope I'm less dead by the time Michelle arrives (I've also learned that she is 18) otherwise we may have a problem.

Also, a close friend has just gotten some really bad news in their family. Feel a bit useless being so far away at this time :(

Give it some Welly!

Long time, no blog. Blame Fiji.

There's perhaps one photo from my Hollywood tour because I own the worst camera in the world (I've spied a few shops that look like they may be able to help and if they still can't then it's time to put it in a box and send it back to Fuji - I found the receipt too.)

Fiji was interesting. My arrival in to the country was somewhat unexpected, being escorted by police wasn't what I was planning. Most of you who read this already know what happened. If you don't, then just ask and I will tell. I did however meet a very nice girl named Christina on the flight. She is from Washington state, about an hour and a half from Seattle.

Here's a general rundown of what I did:

Tuesday: Arrived, showered, napped, went for a full body massage.

Wednesday: Went to Southsea Island. Went on a sub-boat-thing, learned to snorkel (where I met Hannah & Jonathan) and got stung by sea-lice (baby jellyfish to normal people), exchanged contacts with Hannah & Jonathan (forgot to say, they're Aussies) over lunch and then went kayaking, which didn't go very well and resulted in me getting very burned and cutting my foot open when the tide slammed the kayak into it. Went home, had an allergic reaction (most likely the mosquito cream. I got bitten a lot.)

Thursday: Went to Robinson Crusoe Island, met Corina (another Aussie), watched the traditional dancing, tried fresh coconut, had a traditional lovo meal (cooked in the ground) and did the pamper package - massage, manicure & pedicure for $60 (or about £20!)

Friday: Went to Port Denarau and met Christina for lunch. After she caught her transfer, I tried to find Hannah & Jonathan (and Paul & Jillian who I didn't know they were with). They weren't in so I left them a note.

Saturday: Went to the temple in Nadi. On the way bumped in to Hannah, Jillian & Paul, had lunch with them and then went to Denarau with them and played volleyball in the pool at their resort.

Sunday: Spent the day at Chedly & Ellen's house (the hostel owners) as nothing was open on Sunday because A) It's a Sunday B) The Monday was a public holiday C) The country was in mourning because the old president had just died. We were going to go up to the mud-hot-springs thing but the weather was too bad so we stayed in and watched films and the USA sevens with their friends and family.

I arrived in NZ yesterday. The flight was fine and Auckland airport is officially my favourite one. My shampoo and shower jelly exploded all over my case. Got to Wellington and found out that I could move in that day so once we got there, I went and explained things to the hostel I was booked in to. I live in a shared room so I should be meeting my room mate, Michelle, on Sunday aka moving day. I've met a few people so far, including my RA Nicole, and they all seem nice. I just hope I can shift my flu-y-ness before Sunday. I hope Michelle is nice.

Today I set up an account with the National Bank, I should hopefully get my card on Friday. I've not paid my fees yet and my cards don't like the chip & pin machines here :S I bought a few bits and bobs (new shower gel, air freshener, a mirror because I couldn't locate where it was, a notepad, some plastic glasses and some lens cleaner.) I can't buy a fresher's pass (or O week as they call it here) because I don't have a Vic. ID and I can't get that until I enrol, which is Friday (grr.) Hopefully I will make it to some stuff, there is a neon toga party which sounds fun. I bought some Zubrowka at the Fiji duty free but I will have to hide it as it's against the rules to have any alcohol in rez during orientation, study, and exam weeks.

I will have uber legs by the time I return home. I live on a hill. To get to uni you go up it, to get to town you go down it. Wellington is very hilly but apart from that, it reminds me a lot of Norwich. I really like it here so far, it feels like home. We'll see how things go over the next little while :)

I forgot to say, according to the inflight magazine, cider is becoming the cool drink in NZ ;-) they also have the BEST money over here. The $10 note has Kate Sheppard on one side and the blue duck on the other :D :D :D

My eyes a camera, my feelings film

It's ok if you don't understand what the title is about because I'm linking you to the explanation. I hope the link is good because I can't check. I'm in the quiet area, see, because one of the girls in my room got into an almighty huff because I was using 'her' socket :S See Fakebook for snarky status on the matter.

I'm in LA. It's not a dirty as people said, although oh my lord, you need to be an expert people dodger to get anywhere. Today I was accosted by beggars (fairly standard on the west coast, it's the weather, see), guys selling tours (I booked myself on one for tomorrow), a bloke selling his EP, a guy dressed as the guy from Scream, people asking me to take their photo for them, and the people from the Church of Scientology. They wanted to know if I wanted a free stress test. I pretended to be deaf and carried on walking. I don't need a stress test, I know I'm stressed, haha.

So far I've wandered up the walk of fame, been to Grauman's Chinese theatre and finally got myself a new handbag. The tour tomorrow is one of those go see the Hollywood sign, see where 'famous' people live, see the shops I can't afford to go into type things. I imagine it'll be cheesy but fun. I should probably try taking the bus tomorrow, the whole hour and a half walk to Hollywood Blvd. is kinda destroying my feet. That and I don't think I've recovered from my last day in San Fran, where I decided to walk to Lombard St. (the winding one) then to Fisherman's Wharf then back again. There's a reason San Fran has lots of trams and things. Anyway, the best way I can describe that walk is to tell you to imagine walking around a crooked house (a la the one in Southend) whilst drunk.

I'm sure there's probably some other crap I should be telling you but I am le tired (it's bloody cold here at night so it takes a while to get to sleep)

The Fran o'clock news

Good evening. Here is a round up of today's news in the land of Fran:

- My camera appears to be working again. The man in the shop blamed the weather (was he secretly English?) and then tried to sell me a new one.

- For $8.75 I got myself a pair of turquoise capri pants, so I at least have something for my first few hours in Fiji. And they come below my knee, so I don't need to wear my sarong with them.

- The housing situation is down to two houses. On the same road. I know which one I prefer but it looks like we could be at a massive loggerheads situation here. We'll see how this pans out. I'm really hoping that somebody snaps up the house I'm not so keen on so that it resolves the situation.

- I've just spent nearly two hours talking to Farah on Skype. She seems nice and whilst I do see her points, I'm not sure if she can see mine. Maybe I don't articulate myself very well, so I shall try to explain things here in the hope that I make more sense. I'm hoping to get hold of one of the parentals in the next few hours to discuss things with them.

House no.1 (the one I want)

- 4 bedrooms

- Has a tennant already there who will be continuing to live there.

- As there is already a tennant, less faffing about with the bills.

- Is let by a lady

- £240/month

- Comes with tv

- Only single-glazed

House no. 2

- 3 bedrooms

- Is let by an agency

- £260/month

- No tv

- Double-glazed

- All bedrooms are doubles

Now, to me it seems obvious why we should have house no.1 The arguments against it go thus:

- Farah doesn't want to live with a guy

- Only single-glazed so will cost more

- Is bigger than house no. 2 so bills will be more

- 3 people = closer knit house.

I appreciate the points being made but here is why I think house no.1 is better

- Rent is less.

- House is bigger

- I've seen pics of it

- I have never known a house of 3 to work peacefully. It often ends up with 2 people being buddy-buddy and the other person being a spare. At UBC I lived on the same floor as nearly 40 people are it was the most harmonious place I've lived because there were more options for hanging out etc.

- The thought of an all-female house terrifies me slightly (I get on better with blokes. That's fairly obvious from the fact that all bar one of my closest friends are blokes.)

- I genuinely don't think that £20 extra/month for a house on the exact same street can be justified by it having double-glazing/less room to heat.

- Inigo used to pay £260-ish for his old room which was including all the bills so I really don't see how it's justified.

Yo.

I'm in SF atm. Eugene was very fun and Rose and her housemates were very friendly and welcoming. Rose told me today that they all said how much they'd missed me last night after I'd gone.

My camera is a little funny. I'm not sure why. I'm going to try to find somewhere in SF tomorrow to see if they can fix it.

My luggage is a massive pain. The new bag is bigger than the old one and therefore even though it has the same amount of stuff in it, it's heavier than the old one, which has led to fun times at checkin. United made me stuff loads into the smaller case, which then wouldn't shut, so they taped it shut :S Amtrak made me take out stuff and put it in a box. Fuck knows what Air Pacific and Air NZ will do. Hopefully just charge me a fuckload to keep it as is (you know things are bad when this is what you're hoping for.) Booked my flight home today. Will be back on Sunday July 3rd. If you're reading this, Mr Lazar-Gillard, I expect you to be in attendance with a polypin or two. An Aubrey would be good too but I very much doubt either of us can persuade/bribe him into it. So I shall just have to wait a while until I see him (probably for the best.) There is, of course, the option of turning up at city hall whenever I'm next in Norwich and scaring the crap out of him (it looks quite likely, for various reasons, that I'll be about towards the end of July. If not, I have decided that my very belated 21st/welcome back thing: The Norwich edition shall be held over the bank holiday weekend.)

I went to Macy's today and got this because it was nice. The shoes in the picture are ones I got in a vintage shop in Eugene, with a view to wearing them with my suit. I also got a haircut in Eugene as I hadn't had one since I left the country :S

Dude, I think this whole town is high

So sayeth the t-shirt I bought today in Denver. Ami and I took the bus to Denver today after we went to her psychology lecture. It was fun and I also bought a new camera (Ben lent me his but the batteries refused to charge - I'll post it back soon) and a new suitcase (the exploding shampoo and conditioner was the final straw with the old one.) The new suitcase is big and red. The new camera looks like this. I'm hoping that whoever found my previous camera did the right thing and handed it in to Continental, and that it is on it's way back to the Heath. If not, I hope that the holiday photos of us will convince that person to do the right thing. If not, I hope a tree falls on them.

Boulder was awesome and I didn't get altitude sickness, just a little nosebleed earlier (the Rockies seem to make me have nosebleeds, as evidenced by the ones I had on the train to Toronto.) I'm hoping the journey to Eugene tomorrow is ok and that Rose's house won't be too tricky to find lol.

Hope you like the picture selection :)

Rocking out in Boulder

I made it ok! In 5 minutes I'm going to head out so that I can meet Ami for dinner.

Quick list of things that have happened:

-Lost my camera.

-Suitcase broke even more. Somebody checked my bags and fixed it so that the zip isn't gaping open everywhere. Thank you, nice TSA person.

-I own a suit.

-I got a place in halls at Vic.

-I've been assigned a buddy at Vic.

Oh no :(

I will update properly and I will pack properly but right now I should go to bed because I am very sad.

Do you remember last month I wrote about the death of Jake Staines and how I thought the passenger was probably his fiancee Holly, who I also knew?

His funeral was a couple of days ago and in the facebook tribute group I read the following, as written by Holly's dad:

Holly remembered Jake today. We told her what happened. She knows but I don't think she understands yet.

I'm not an expert in such things, by any means, but I can't help feeling that things might've been better if neither of them had survived. They'd been together since they were 13 and been engaged since they were 16. They were a year older than me. You don't have to be a genius to work out that that's a damned long time. I can only hope that Holly will recover ok and will some day be able to love again. I can only point to the case of Czech model Petra Nemcova who lost her fiance during the 2004 Tsunami and is now engaged to somebody else. Apologies for linking to The Daily Fail/The Daily Hate Mail but it was the most reliable source (?!)

Locked in a basement in Halifax

That's where I am now. I'm not complaining as I have the entire dorm to myself. Apparently Halifax is deader than dead at this time of year. Not sure why, it's warmer than Montreal was! I do hope nobody decides to turn up and stay in this room as well, because it's currently decorated with my washing. The dryer didn't work and I wasn't paying another $1.25 to try the other one. Oh well. The receptionist scared the shit out of me when he tried to open the door a while back. I stuck my head out and was like 'WTF?!' and he was like 'I just wanted to make sure you'd locked it' which was nice to know that he cared.

So, Montreal. Was fun, although speaking more French would've been good. Managed a few half conversations so I think I deserve a pat on the back. I went to the Notre Dame Cathedral, the biosphere (where I took photos for mother as they had an exhibition on making outfits from waste materials) and I took a walk around the gay village and Mont Royal park. A lot of stuff was closed due to the weather. Walking around Montreal was not fun (which is why they have many miles of tunnels built under the city to link important places so that people don't die) as the snow had begun to thaw. And then there was more snow. So you ended up with snow over black ice. Not good. The metro is a bit weird too as the doors have an unnerving habit of opening before the train actually stops. Other things that happened in Montreal include me getting asked for money by a woman in a fur coat (?!), arguing with Lance and Nanoo over various things including super-colliders in Texas, having wine with Lance and Paul (the hostel owner), Paul letting me check out late, eating vegetarian poutine, and getting seriously started with househunting with Kirsty.

Ottawa was very confusing. I spent the day at the national gallery. I can safely say that modern art DOESN'T make me want to rock out. Some of it what quite cool but a lot of it made me think eh?! A blind toddler could've done that. There are no pictures from Ottawa. There wasn't really anything I wanted to photograph lol.

The train to Halifax. The first bit was shitty. The train was uber-booked and I was sat next to a very fidgety woman who only spoke French. So yeah, that was pretty crappy. The upside was, she got off at Bathurst (an early-ish morning stop) which gave me the opportunity to snaffle both seats and go back to sleep. There wasn't much to see view-wise and we got delayed by an hour thanks to a broken down freight train but it was all good. Halifax seems very nice so far. Also, my hostel was literally just round the corner from the station so I looked like a bit of an idiot with my $3-something cab fare. Tbf, the driver also reckoned that I probably wouldn't have made it with my crap.

In other news, I only got onto one of my course selections at Vic. so now I'm having to make some more lol. This university is le stupid.

In other other news, I have blisters on my fingers, a gash on my ankle and my handbag has broken. The question is, do I get a new one in Halifax or wait until New York?

Oh my fuck, she's written an update!

Yes, it's true! I'm updating properly (perhaps minus pics but hey ho, we shall see.) I'm currently writing to you from Montreal (where the question is 'Parlez vous Francais ou Anglais?' and the answer is always 'Anglais.' At least I understand the question!)

Because I suck at updating, I shall be bulletpointing what I did between now and my last proper update.

Vancouver

• Went to Granville Island. Bought a bag, some luggage tags, a damned nice cuppa and a hammock chair.
• Went to the aquarium. Saw axolotls! Also stroked some anemones, sea urchins, sea cucumbers and starfish.
• Went to Canada place and saw the Olypmic Cauldron, as lit by The Great One, Wayne Gretzky aka the king and god of Canada. Look him up, you'll see why.
• Skated at Robson Square. Then got drunk with some Kiwis.
• Saw the Ricmond Oval but missed the skating session.
• Christmas trivia quiz.
• Lynn Canyon, which was fairly shitty and rainy and almost everything was closed.

The train

• Not as bad as you'd think it'd be. Saw Mount Robson which is the highest point in the Rockies.

Toronto

• CN tower. Queued forever and ended up going up in the dark, but everything was lit up which was nice. When to the Skypod.
• Met Martin for a drink.
• Went to Niagara Falls (which is pretty much like a British seaside town) froze my arse off, tasted wine. Bought wine.
• Tim Burton exhibition!
• Shoe museum!
• Hockey hall of fame!
• Spent NYE at Wayne Gretzky's (the restaurant, not his house) and the hostel bar. Got given a glass of Baby Duck :D
• Everything pretty much shut on new years day so I went to the TIFF lightbox (where the Tim Burton exhibition is - it's Toronto's version of the BFI) and saw The Tempest. It was alright.
• Got the frak out of there!

Montreal

• Not much so far. Made peanut noodles for foods. Hostel is very nice. AND guess what?! The bathrooms are individual little lockable rooms with a shower, loo and sink! That's right, for the first since I came over here, there won't be people in the room as I take a shower!