28 January

Hello all. It's been a long time since I last posted. It's been really busy at the school with mock exams and stuff so I haven't been able to get out to the internet cafe in the last few weeks. However, I'm here now and let me update you all on what's happening.

As you all probably know, Odette left for Guatemala and Fiona left for London so my circle of friends has dissapated some what. However, Zelresse has moved into flat number three (she's South African from New Zealand) and Len, Carol, and Jackie are still in the flas and that's keeping me sane. She's here until the end of the year but I think she might be having second thoughts. At least that's the feeling I'm getting from her. The school has again officially offered me an extension to my contract and I said no. They suggested that I take until Monday to think about it and now I'm thinking of staying. I know for a fact that the workload gets increasingly easy between April and July and that's the incentive in staying. This, plus I don't have as much money as I thought I had. I actually don't even have enough money to buy a ticket back to Vancouver at the moment. (I don't know where all the money goes...though I guess it's pretty easy to figure out since I'm spending a lot on accommodations and my last gas bill being £212. The woman at the bank asked me if I leave all the lights, heat and hot water running 24 hours a day. It's a lot of money for two months of gas, eh?) Staying another 5 months will provide at least £6000 but then£2100 of it will go to rent and at least £500 to gas and water.

Well, I have another 48 hours to think about it. If I do accept it I'm going to ask for 2 weeks off before beginning at the start of March. Plus, I'll see if they can help me a little more with rent. As well, they'll have to pay the extra £500 required to extend my work visa another 6 months.

Oh, I really don't know what to do.

I hear the weather in Vancouver has been pretty crappy the last 2 months or so. I should say that it's been sunny here the last two or three weeks and we rarely ever get rain during sunlight hours. Actually, we're only a few feet above sea level and we have no mountains in the county so we are said to be the driest county in England. That's good news I guess but it's still very, very cold and the sun sets by 1600hrs.

Hope everyone is doing well. I miss being in Vancouver, though this might be as good a year as any to be away from Vancouver considering the weather and how the Canucks are playing.

Only three more weeks until the Olympics in Turino. Only two more weeks before Barcelona. Yeah!

Go, Arsenal, go.

ed