100th blog entry!
Post a comment so we know you're out there! Consider this an open discussion on anything you'd like to see added or changed. All trolls on this web page must post otherwise you know what Elisabeth thinks of you:

Weirdness
This dual-income thing is mighty weird. Out all day, back in the evening slightly-pooped and slightly-surely. Mom's still here which is good in that it delays the shock E and I are going to get next week when all the nummy food we usually cook isn't going to be ready to eat 'till bed time, I mean 9 o'clock.

Woo-hoo I'm still the Boggle master! (Only 1 loss to Mrs. E. Allin... though Dame S. Allin scored the first official 8 letter word 'breather' for a whopping 11 points!)

Being DINKs is alright I suppose, once we actually get those two pay days. Oh yeah, except that every cent of my cheque goes to paying off the credit card. Ha Ha. Ha? Well the joke's on them because Barclay's has offered ME a credit card now and if I transfer Elisabeth's mess onto my card, there'll be no payment for a year. Woo-hoo! Here's to putting things off! Now all I've got to do is play my cards right on Friday when I try to get this card of capitalist delights... Shave, brush what little hair is left on my head and remember not to wear my t-shirt that says "All banks are an evil extention of a fascist neo-feudal caste system that imprisons our bodies and minds via the almighty dollar."

Elisabeth's at her mondo-Italiano class tonight.
Ciao!

Stuff Happening
Mood:  hungry
Now Playing: The Archers
So... Whats new? Elisabeth's new biking to work for the first time thing turned rather muddy this evening when, of course, it rained on her way back from work. She's invigorated, though, and cooking a lasagne, showing off her muscles and enjoying the tightness of her neck/chin thing. Don't ask. I don't fully understand it.

And I'm working. Life isn't too tough at the bookstore - the people are nice, pace slow, etc, etc, etc.

[A real question I as asked yesterday: "I'm looking for a book. I don't know it's title or who wrote it but it's got a brown cover and is half as thing as the book i'm holding in my hand. Do you think you can help me?"]

>yawn< Yesterday what with D&D etc, has tired me out. I had to go to work early for a staff meeting and watch a video with no sound. I can't remember if Elisabeth mentioned the pleasant Saturday whn all 3 of us headed down to the Bournemouth area and I visited some family members. Darn... I wanted to write more, be concise, detailed, etc but I've run out of steam.

Toodleoo!

I Want to Ride My Bicycle!
Mood:  a-ok
Ta dee Ta daa! Elisabeth has at long last a bicycle!!! No more train rides and schlepping on the pavement...this girls got wheels!

I made my first trip (and yes I was on the left side of the road ALL the time!) to the Jack the Ripper rehearsal, and I got there in record time.

Tomorrow I will forgoe the clickty clackity rackity choo-train and climb aboard MY BICYCLE and ride to Weybridge...shouldn't take me too long...only three train stops...

The best part is the whole trip will by via the Basingstoke Canal and River Wey Navigation. This means I'll see lots of locks and some canal boats, and hopefully spy some good pubs that Stephen and I can go to once he's purchased his own set of wheels too.

Speaking of the MAN, he has completed his first day at work (awe) and instead of coming home to tell you all about it, decided it would be more fun to take a train to Camberley and play D & D.

At this point, you might be wondering, "Well what the hell is Susan doing if they're both out and about?" Well I'm happy to report that we have put her to work cleaning up our apartment, doing our laundry, and answering our telemarketing phone calls.

But really, she has been enjoying relaxing and reading, walking, and generally being free of responsibility.

Now I want to hear from you: You must participate in this drink pole: Beer, wine, or Cider?

And WHY...

The drink that gets the highest recommendation, may very well be featured in our next update...and the more comments we receive, the more elixer we will drink.

On your mark, get set, POST!

Soon...
...but now tomorrow.

Things have been pretty busy over here, hence the lack of regular posting and, what with my job starting tomorrow, I'll have even less bench warming time on my hands. A full update is scheduled sometime this week and then we'll be back to our regularily scheduled blogging. Less frequently but more regularily, I suspect. Kinda like when the Metamusal kicks in.

Busy
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: The fat, bearded blow-hole weekday morning talk show host
Busy, busy, busy. That's the word of the day.

It's Elisabeth's busy season at work and she's not allowed to have a full day off. Me and mom have been doing the tourist thing in London (The typical Stephen & Elisabeth deal: British Musum, Tate Modern, Markets & Speakers Corner).

The good news is that all my blood sacrafices to the ancient Chinese God of jobs, PeiDei have paid of and I'll be starting a 3 month contract at the local book store. Not the lucrative assistant managerial job that I was hoping for but, with our debt laconically spiraling out of control, I'm not in a postion to play the waiting game - hopefully they'll still want me around in January. If all goes well (And it should - I mean, is it feasaby possible to get fired from a book store?) we'll be debt free in the UK by the new year.

Which is how we started off this year, which means that in 2005 we can, at least, resume building up debt all over again (It's always more fun at the beginning because you actually think you can pay it off) and this time we can do it with even more style!

Choo Choo!
"All aboard the job train!"
(As Stephen holds his breath...)

Helloooooo from Woking
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: beach Boys Pet Sound
Hello fellow Canadians and other people, this is Susan speaking. I am here in Woking, UK with these two special people,drinking Sainsbury's select Bulgarian wine. There is a statue from the space ship from "War of the Worlds" in the town square, Stephen took a picture of me today with it, just as I cracked my head of the leg, cool.........there is also a WOLSEY Place!!!!!!! My dog is famous!!!!! We play BOGGLE and I loose, sad face!!!!!! I will certainly get into shape this visit as we WALK everywhere and Stephen even is slow motion is six strides ahead of me and Elisabth even walks faster, or so I am told,I will find out tormorrow. There is a wonderful magic tree half way to their flat and I will take a picture of the two wonderful people up the tree tormorrow. Over and out from Woking..........

Boogle Boogle
Mood:  surprised
Now Playing: the wind--and NOT Andrew W K(rap)
Stephen's mother, Susan, has finally arrived in Woking. After over a year of planning, Susan has flown into town, and bestowed the gift of the boggle box to our humble home.

I was supposed to have my first Italian lesson this evening, but a few problems have arisen, namely, not being able to afford a bicycle or cab fare to get me from A to B, and it is an hours walk each way. Not to mention the impossibility of walking back home at night. But the main reason for not going, was to spend a little time with Susan. We have played 20 games of boggle since her arrival yesterday, and 1 game of monopoly. Much more fun to look forward to...and yes, Stephen has won all 20 games. But Elisabeth won Monopoly, as per usual.

During the day Stephen and Susan walked the Basingstoke canal between our apt. and downtown, and ate sandwiches. Elisabeth went to work, and was generally productive.

oh me oh my, what a crazy world we live in. And what oh what has brought us all to England? Couldn't be the standard of living...no, not the health care (I had to cancel my appointment with the ear specialist because I can't afford the train fare), and hmmm, could it be the weather, the food?

Still trying to work it all out...

E

Wacky wedding shows
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Britney Spears (don't ask...)
Wow. Wacky wedding shows in Woking. The only free thing that we were able to get was a candle, though Elisabeth went into business mode and started inspecting everyone's wedding photo albums so I supposed we did get something out of it. There was a wedding dress fashion show with thoroughly uninspiring and nervous looking models (I swear, I thought one was going to vomit on stage...) and lots and lots and lots of people eager to divorce you from your money.

Weddings over here cost an average of 16,000 pounds. That's the vicinity of 40,000$ Canadian. Compared to the breezy 5 grand that was spent on ours, I have a hard time imagining what all the money could have been spent on. Sure 2 or 3 grand would have made things a bit easier, we would have gotten a honeymoon... Bleah, I'm not thinking about my wedding - Madonna's singing Like a Prayer now so all's good.

Elisabeth's making an apple pie - that'll chase all those horrible wedding thoughts away. Mind you, the one thing that's absolutely clear to me is that I'm so glad that ours turned out the way it did compared to the cheesy, traditional, pre-packaged, identical-except-for-the-guests, 16-grand-in-UK-sterling weddings that were being marketed to all the suckers at the exhibition. Here's to personalized weddings and Duran Duran (Who are now playing on the radio).