Book of the Shield Maiden

That is all.

I got hired yesterday at Copper Mountain (a ski resort)!  So, I'm thinking I'll quit my job (yay) and look for an inexpensive place to stay up there at least 2-3 nights a week.  I also have applications in at places in Vail, so it's possible I could work at Copper Mountain 3 days a week and Vail the other 3!  This will at least help me get experience and stuff on my resume so that I can start at Ojo Caliente in March.  I'm checking with my 2 friends who have houses in Vail to see if I could stay with/rent from them or if they know of anyone.  There's also the possibility of crashing at my brother's cabin in Keystone a few nights a week even though it's tiny.  But woo-hoo!

Plus, my job is being a pain about letting me go to the interview in Asheville; they're saying I can only have one day off for it, when ideally I need four days.  The job in Copper Mt starts at the end of November, so I could potentially turn in my notice, go to the interview in NC, and still have time to turn down the job(s) in the high country if I get the job in NC.  Of course, I'll have it to fall back on in case I don't get the NC job, or if the NC job doesn't start for several months.

It's so nice to have options again!  Oh, and here are pictures of our beautiful October blizzard.  Did I mention I love snow?









And this is me at Ojo Caliente!

I passed the National Exam, and I got a job!

The job is at Ojo Caliente in New Mexico, it's a mineral spring & spa, and it's really beautiful!  Everyone was really nice and it seems like a really great and laid back place to work.  I can live in employee housing there, which feels more like a dorm than anything else, but that's what I would have been doing on a cruise ship, anyway!  Training starts in March.

In the meantime, I have my interview in Asheville on Nov 5, and it's my first choice.  Ojo Caliente feels more like a back-up position.  It's really isolated and feels impermanent because of the housing situation.  It would still be really great, though.  A good way to gain experience.

But, yay!

 As bummed as I am that the cruise line interview equaled epic fail,  things are lookin' up!  I have an interview at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC on November 5.  And it seems perfect!

I take the national exam on Monday; so wish me luck with that, too!

Today, I sent out 38 resumes/cover letters.

Saturday I leave for Orlando for the spa interview.

I have officialy witnessed my first birth!  I was in the labor support team for one of the women in my coven.  She was in labor two weekends in a row, and then her water broke at 2am Wednesday, and the baby boy was born at 4:34am on Wednesday, September 16!  He was 9 pounds, 8 oz and 22in long.  We had trouble getting him to breathe at first, but the midwives were awesome and got him to breathe before the paramedics got there.  So, all is good!  Also, a pack of coyotes came and started yipping and howling out near the sweat lodge right after the water broke, and we heard them celebrating again after he was born.  Also, he's a Virgo with his moon in Leo.  So exactly the opposite of me!

Anyway, it was a great experience, and I was thrilled to let my training in labor massage get some use! 

In other news, I won the customer service award and my office team won the best office team award at work today; that's a $100 bonus for each, and then I also won the "High Five" award for being nominated for all the awards we grant.  What shall I buy with my bonus...

So...work still sucks, but it's endurable.  I actually am enjoying the work itself more, I just can't stand all the bureaucratic nonsense.  In the meantime, I sent out some more resumes and cover letters last week, heard back from a few places but haven't set up any more interviews yet.  There are some places in New Mexico and on the East Coast that seem promising.  Also, I sent my resume to the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, so hey, who knows?  I have an interview lined up for the cruise lines at the end of September in Orlando, so we'll just see how that goes!

I was so happy to get to see electrichobbit  and arylwren_  last week.  Aside from being awesome people, we explored the new Tattered Cover (best bookstore ever) and found a cool Pagan store I'd never been to before.  Then gave the kitchen one last hurrah before the remodel by making a fabulous dinner and peach pie!  (I got to lattice the pie...it was fun!)  My aunt and uncle came into town for a one-day visit on the way back from taking their son to college, so that was also nice although too short to feel like we really got to visit!

So this weekend I've spent at Eagle's Landing because one of my friends is in labor, and she invited me to be present at the labor!  I got a call Friday night to come over and I've spent the last 3 days there.  Still no baby; she's been in & out of labor and so far is doing really well but not getting too intense.  So mostly it's felt like a giant party with all her family there, most of her husband's family, and myself & two others from the Eagle's Landing community there for general support and cooking...'cuz that's lots of people to feed!  She sent us home last night so I was able to relax a little at home, but I'm going back this afternoon to help out and give more massage...the poor girl is pretty sore!  It's just been an awesome experience all around, and great for me to have the experience of witnessing and participating in the birthing process.  I'm all certified, but I've never attended a birth before, so I'm just happy to be involved!  Anyway, we'll see where it goes, and i may possibly be staying there most of the week (at least in the evenings) depending on how things go and how many people she wants around her.

So, that's what's happening in my life.  Hope you all are well, and I'll keep you posted on the job hunt!

So, it's been a week since I've written, and since then I've been to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (the band played music from the Pirates of the Caribbean), flown home, unpacked, gone to work, packed, and flown to Seattle. 

My interview was yesterday for the Massage Envy in Bellevue, and I think it went well.  I haven't heard from them yet, but I'm pretty sure they'll offer me a job.  Unfortunately, it is my first instinct that it's not the place for me.  I don't think I'll like working for the Lead Therapist, and I don't really enjoy Deep Tissue, neither is it my strength.  Apparently, they do primarily Deep Tissue, and furthermore, I don't think they'll pay me enough to be able to pay  my bills.  So that's a pretty big deterrent.

My plan, therefore, is to explore Seattle while I'm here, take a look at the possible housing here, and go home and try again for another job in the area, or another job in another area.  As much as I'm *despising* my job right now, the point is I have it and it pays well, and I can stay with my parents as long as I need to.  So it would be a mistake to take a job just to get out of the one I'm in and have it be just as frustrating and not as well paying.  I'm certainly disappointed, seeng as how I tend to build things up in my mind and expect everything to work out instantly exactly as I picture it to be.  But hey, this is not the end!  And if all else fails, was a great experience, being my first massage interview.  Plus, I still have that interview for a cruise line at the end of September!  And I need time to get all my licensure in line for Washington before I can start work in this state anyway...

Okay, so that entire entry was a bit like flow-of-consciousness.  Luckily, you are all used to me by now.  I'll keep you all posted!  In the meantime, I'm off to explore Seattle with Bevin, and will be invading the abode of bodica  this evening.  What fun!

Yesterday I spent being very tourist-y.  I went to the Tower of London in the morning, which was actually quite fun.  I decided to take the Yeoman (aka Beefeater) tour, which was entertaining.  Man, these English are great performers!  Anyway, enjoyed seeing Traitor's Gate and the White Tower, which displayed a bunch of Henry VIII's armor.  Then of course, on to the Crown Jewels, which were *very* shiny.  It would suck to be coronated though, I should think.  The coronation robes on display apparently weigh about 200 pounds, and the coronation crown is about 5 pounds (which is a lot of weight to have on your head).  Anyway, met fox_c  for lunch since she works so near the Tower.  We grabbed sandwiches and had a picinic in her favourite part of London, which is probably now my favourite place, too: a bombed-out church-turned-garden about half a block from her office building.

After lunch I took the tube to Russell Square, where I found a handy tree and read for a bit, got rained out, and then proceeded to the British Museum (where I arrived sopping wet, despite my rain jacket).  *Wow* is all I can say.  That, and Rosetta Stone!  The temporary display on was 'Garden and Cosmos', which was a very cool display of Indian paintings and other artworks.  Very, very cool.  I was supposed to accompany fox_c  to yoga, but decided I was too tired and needed an evening to be lazy.

This morning I got up quite early and took the train to Dover for one of the Country Walks in the books raayat  and fox_c  have.  I was planning on walking to Deal and then taking the train back, but was unfortunately rained on and was feeling I should quit while I was ahead after lunch in an *awesome* pub in St. Margaret's.  Annoyingly enough, it cleared up to a perfect blue sky as soon as I got on the train back to London.  Ah well, c'est la vie.  It was an absolutely amazing walk nonetheless, and I'm very glad I got to see the beautiful cliffs, and see more of the countryside while I was here.

So now, it's my last evening in London; we'll probably go out to eat and then have breakfast in the morning before I leave for Heathrow.  I'll probably stop on the way to see the changing of the guard!  I know, another very tourist-y thing to do, but I'm still excited for it.  

I had an amazing first time in Europe, and I'll post more from the States upon my return!

I successfully found my bus tour and got there on time and everything, so that was all good.  We drove to Bath, which was much cooler than I expected.  The architecture is lovely, and the Bath Abbey is really amazing.  I *definately* didn't have enough time here, only an hour and a half, which was enough to tour the baths and grab some lunch (to eat on the bus) and see the Abbey.  Going to the baths themselves felt like visiting a sacred space-probably because it *was* sacred to the Romans.  Plus, all the cool remnants of the temple to Minerva and all.  I didn't have time to see the Jane Austen Centre, which made me sad.  Ah well, I'll just have to go back, right?  The drive up out of the valley was *gorgeous*, actually all the driving was really pretty, but we had an amazing view of the town of bath as we drove out of the valley.

Next was Stonehenge, and let me tell you, if I thought I didn't have enough time in Bath, this was way way worse.  Only 45 minutes to see something that spiritually significant to me.  It sucked to feel rushed, but I did have time to walk all around the circle and spend a few moments grounding and feeling the space.  It also frustrated me to not be able to walk in the center of the stones and pay homage there.  Being that close but not being able to enter was just sad.  But yay, I saw Stonehenge!

We then stopped at the Salisbury Cathedral, where I ironically had plenty of time.  But it was cool to see it; it's a gorgeous cathedral (more candles to light) and I got to see the Magna Carta!  Another copy is in the British Library, but just in case I don't have time for the library, I've at least seen that, too.  Huzzah!

So basically, although I had a lovely day and saw cool stuff and our guide was an excellent history teacher, I've decided I *loathe* bus tours.  Granted, I expected to not like them much, but really, *they suck*.  That is all.

I breakfasted at the National Gallery this time, and enjoyed many fabulous paintings, including a Russeau (who I wasn't able to see while in Chicago, so it made me very happy!).  Went on to Westminster Abbey, which was even cooler than I expected.  I'm glad I was advised to use the audio tour, because it was just fun to go about Westminster Abbey with Jeremy Irons in my ear.  It's a *gorgeous* space, and yes, overrun with tourists, but I can now understand the appeal, so I'm not so chagrined about that.  Plus, I was able to light candles in Westminster and in St. Margaret's, so I call it a huge plus to have gone. 

I decided to catch the bus rather than walk down to the Tate Britain, where I had lunch in the cafe and then saw some *more* really amazing paintings.  Many obscure, but really neat things.  Of course, it was a huge thrill for me to see the original Ophelia and Lady of Shalott.  I then met raayat  and fox_c  for dinner at a very cute little Spanish restaurant (the toast? 'Here's to good food, good friends and good wine.  And all our friends we wish were here with us.  *All* of them.')  WE then went to *the funniest imaginable* performance of The Pirates of Penzance ever!  All male cast, tiny little theater (oops, theatre) called the Union Theatre.  And now, my evil little plan for the next time we all get together is for us to put on a production of Pirates.  Who's with me!?!

Tomorrow, I'm taking a bus tour to Stonehenge and Bath.  Yay!

This morning I breakfasted in the beautiful courtyard of the Victoria and Albert museum.  I then took a tour of the museum, while befriending a woman from Pakistan, who walked around several galleries with me.  Yay for making new friends!  The Victoria & Albert museum is amazing, and I could have easily have spent all day in there.  I particularly enjoyed the plaster casts, the sculpture halls, and the theatre exhibits. The theatre exhibit was extremely cool; I do enjoy costumes, after all.  It made me particularly sad that crayola_phoenix  wasn't with me to enjoy the set designs.  =(

I then wandered about Hyde Park, visited Kensington Palace, and had high tea at the Orangery of Kensington Palace.  Tea was lovely, and I was very happy I decided to splurge.  Smoked salmon sandwiches, currant scones with rasberry jam and clotted cream, chocolate cake, champagne, and of course tea.  Plus, cute waiter who kept winking at me.  Can't go wrong.

I walked back to the Science Museum (cool Wallace & Grommitt exhibit) and the Natural Science Museum (so cool!  and gorgeous building) via the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.  Then joined raayat  for Mahler 9 at the Royal Albert Hall.  Nuff said.

Currently, fox_c  is tickling my feet (apparently she forgot how cute my feet were) and raayat  is re-nicknaming Woodward to be bumblef**ktopia.

My last morning in Reykjavik was lovely; Elin and I went to the Blue Lagoon on the way to the airport.  I hadn't realized this before, but it's acutally a lagoon created from the 'waste' of the geothermal power plant; so they have created a type of fuel whose only waste is a health spa.  Can't go wrong there!  We swam about in the hot spring and smeared ourselves with the silica mud mask, then showered and enjoyed the authentic Icelandic buffet.  It involved a lot of fish.  I also tasted whale, but didn't want to eat the whole piece because my system is unused to red meat.  It tastes more like fish than like beef, but it's sortof spongy and chewy.  I thought it was quite good, actually.

The flight was uneventful, although I can tell I'm ruined for all time after my upgrade on the way from London to Reykjavik.  Economy class just isn't as fun.  Passport control on the way back in was also uneventful, except the agent could tell by the former stamp that I had trouble on the way in last time.  Clearly, I was given the stamp of doom.

Back at raayat  and fox_c  's flat, we talked well into the night about Iceland and all the stuff I'd done.  We got up early Saturday and took the train to Otford for our country walk from Otford to Eynsford.  I was very thrilled the entire way to be in such lovely countryside.  We also saw 3 lovely little villages, all of which I want to live in someday, and 2 casles and a Roman Villa (where we ate ice cream).  Had a lovely picnic lunch by the river in the second village, and finished the walk with a pint in Eynsford before catching the train home to make risotto and again stay up late talking.

This morning I went with fox_c  to Quaker Meeting which I thoroughly enjoyed, especially because it was 'strawberry' Sunday, and we ate many fresh strawberries with our tea after Meeting.  We met raayat  at London Bridge and took a walk through what is usually Borough Market but was already pretty dead by the time we got there.  We explored Southwark Cathedral, which is *gorgeous* (so many lovely cathedrals to look in!), and continued our walk down the Thames to a lovely Turkish restaurant for lunch.  We stopped by the Globe, and I'll have to see if I can catch a matinee in the Yard while I'm here.  They're showing Romeo & Juliet, As You Like It, and Trolius & Cressida while I'm here.  We ran into a random Columbian faire by the Milleneum Bridge, and had a lovely view of St. Paul's and Big Ben/Westminster Abbey from the river.  Walked past the London Eye and then got on the tube back towards the flat, stopping of course at the wine shop.  So, that was my weekend!  More adventures to come!

Also, if you are so inclined, send prayers or good thoughts.  My ´brother´s´grandfather´s funeral is today.

Elin and I had a very full day yesterday.  We bundled the boys in the car (well, Daniel and Elin bundled the boys in the car, I mostly tried to stay out of the way) and we went to a friend´s birthday party.  It was great to meet Elin´s friends who I´ve heard so much about!  Plus, good food, good conversation, good coffee.  We dropped Daniel and the boys off at home and went shopping at the museum store and the hand knit association where I got my lovely Icelandic sweater!  Now I have to move somewhere cold.

We then went whale watching!  We were able to see several Minke whales feeding, and I was completely thrilled to see my first whale.  I even got to see the fluke of one as a deep dive was taken!  Too bad I couln´t see a blue whale, but we were too shallow for them.  Ah well, maybe next time!  Elin had a blast, too.  She doesn´t generally get to go whale watching unless she has tourists visiting her!  Interestingly, we both got nauseas after we got back on land, because the pier wasn´t moving.  We didn´t get sea sick, we got land sick!  After whale watching we went to a lovely little Italian restaurant with amazing food.  The menu was in Italian, Icelandic, and English, but it took me awhile to realize it was actually translated into English because I was just reading in Italian.  I even started to order in Italian, but luckily for the waitress, Elin interrupted in Icelandic.  After dinner we went to see Harry Potter, which I found very enjoyable.  Some things made me annoyed, but that´s always the way of these things.  It might actually be the best of the movies.

So now I´m all packed for the airport and we´re getting ready to go to the Blue Lagoon on the way.  I´ll post more from the UK!

I have now spent two full days in Iceland and am very inspired to knit more.  I´ll be traveling home with many sweater patterns, we´ll just see if I ever get around to using them.  Reykjavik is certainly filled with lots and lots of yarn and knitting shops.  At any rate, Elin and I spent most of yesterday morning shopping and exploring art museums downtown, and had delicious lattes served by the barista who apparently invented the international barista competitions.  We went back to the house for lunch and to collect the boys, who we took to the botanical gardens so Snorri (the 3.5 year old) could run around.  After dinner, Elin and I drove about 40 minutes north to hear a chamber music concert in a little church, but we were too late to get seats so instead we went for a hike up to a gorgeous waterfall.  This is also in the area where you can see the fault lines, and there are all these amazing cliffs.  It was also the site of the first parliament of Iceland, one of the earliest parliaments in the world.  Also a site of drownings and beheadings of criminals.  We took the long drive back to Reykjavik, around the largest lake in Iceland, and saw the geothermal plants which provide most of Reykjavik´s energy.

This morning Elin dropped me off at the National Museum of Iceland where I learned all about Iceland´s history and saw lots of cool viking swords!  It was a really great museum and I´ll probably go back to the shop there tomorrow.  Elin and I went to a noontime concert at the cathedral of Schola Cantorum, one of the best choirs in Iceland and possibly the world.  I´m certainly glad we got to see them, it was well worth it.  It made me all nostalgic, and now I think I want to find some chamber singers to sing with somewhere.  We ate at Elin´s favorite vegetarian restaurant, which also happens to have some amazing chocolate cake, and we took some carrot cake with us for our road trip.  We picked up Daniel and the boys and drove out to visit Daniel´s hometown, and to see the church where they´ll be getting married next summer (guess I need another ticket to Iceland next year).  It was a little cold and windy for Elin and Trausti to get out of the car, so Daniel and Snorri and I took a little hike to see a bubbling spring.  Snorri and I also found lots of Elf caves, because there are many giants and elves living in Iceland, you see.  We also visited the base of one of the glaciers, which you couldn´t quite see the top of because of the clouds, but it was gorgeous nevertheless.  The little town at the base of the glacier, Arnarstapi, is where I want to live if I ever move to Iceland.  It´s an old fishing village, and I could totally move there to own horses and drink beer at the local pub.  Plus, ocean, mountains, glaciers, what else does a girl need...

Had a lovely going away party for my massage class colleague who´s moving to Boston.  It was good to see everyone and get to say ´goodbye for now´.  Lois then dropped me at the airport, and I proceeded on my first trans Atlantic flight!  i must say, I´m spoiled forever on domestic flights.  International flights are much, much nicer.  Better food, free movies, etc etc.  I was able to sleep pretty much the entire night, which was good.  Jet lag didn´t affect me too much because I got myself on London schedule as soon as I could.  Anyway, it was pretty much without incident except I must have been asleep when they handed out the landing cards, so I wasn´t able to fill it out on the plane and had to find a card to fill out on the terminal.  Not such a huge deal, but it made me very grateful for my trip to Mexico.  If I had had to do this by myself before that trip, I probably would have just broken down and started crying right there in the terminal for no good reason.

Also, never claim that you´re a massage therapist on your landing card.  I wasn´t taken into a separate interrogation room or anything, but I thought I was about to.  I really got the third degree.  Finally when I said I was also an administrative assistant he seemed to think that made sense and let me through under the strict understanding that I couldn´t work in the UK.  Ah well, live and learn.

Raayat met me at the Underground station by their house, and we waited about 2 minutes for foxc to appear, then walked to their flat.  Walked to get groceries (is it crazy that I really like going to grocery stores not in the US it´s like its own adventure) and then had a snack of cheese and crackers before taking the traditional first night walk around to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, houses of parilament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalger Square, Covent Garden, Royal Opera House (yay) etc etc.  We joined 2 of their friends for dinner and beer at their favorite pub, and then they had to drag me home, being somewhat exhausted by this point.  It was worth it though, like I say, I´m not suffering from jet lag, at least!

Monday morning foxc woke me up before she trotted off to work, and was unfortunately the bearer of some bad news.  I feel way too far away to do anything about it, but the good news is I can light candles for rebelowl42´s sister at beautiful cathedrals all over Europe for the next two weeks.

I gathered my stuff together and trotted off to the Underground, slightly later than I had hoped, then trotted back to the flat because I forgot my wallet, then the Underground was delayed because of track shutdowns.  So i was in a bit of a panic when I got to Heathrow but all was good, I was still there an hour before my flight.  Got upgraded to Economy Comfort for my flight to Iceland, which I must say was very cool.  I got to see how the other half lives a little bit!  Elin and the boys met me at the airport and took me for coffee at a lighthouse museum in Elin´s home town.  I cannot stress enough how gorgeous it is here.  And the weather is perfect!  It just feels like I´m at 12,000 feet back home...only I´m at sea level.  Anyway, we went to the grocery store (more foreign food items) and made seafood soup (so good!) and took a walk after the boys were in bed.  We walked all around downtown Reykjavik and saw all the important buildings, parliament, the prime minister´s house and office (a 65 year old gay woman, who rocks!  Apparently you can just knock on her door and say ´hi´, but we both felt awkward doing that), the former president´s house (the first female president in the world), the opera house, etc etc.  This was all at about 2230, but since the sun sets at 0100, it was a beautiful twilight walk.  I slept really well last night, and now we´re off to walk around downtown again with everything open to stop inside some mueums etc.  I´ll post more the next time I´m around a computer!

My job *SUCKS*!  I can't wait for vacation, and I'm really looking forward to getting a new job...so I can be a massage therapist, and so I can *THROW ALL THIS SHIT BACK IN THEIR FACES!!!!!!!*

I just bought my tickets to London and Reykjavik!  I'm 26, who needs a savings account?

In sadder news, those of you who know about my "brother" also probably know that his grandparents are more like my grandparents than my own, due to the fact that 3 of them died before I was born and Gran lived in Texas so I didn't get to see her much.  Anyway, my brother's grandfather died this weekend, and so I'm very sad.  I'm going to the visitation this afternoon, but the memorial service will most likely be when I am in Europe.

So I am sad about that and excited about my trip and stressed about moving this weekend.  Any other emotions we can add to this?  Oh, yeah, anxious about finding a job.  And angry at my current job for trying to eat my soul.

I have a few extra graduation announcements, so if you want one, reply to this post or send me an email!