Wednesday, 23 February 2005

on a roll

  • skived = played hooked, as in "Mark skived off of work on Wednesday and we watched daytime TV" (totally hypothetical of course)
  • having a laugh = you are joking
  • revision = reviewing/studying
  • private school = public school -- open to everyone -- cheaper
  • public school = private, more exclusive (I know, what?)
  • A Levels = I can't even explain when you get these, but I know there also used to be 'O' Levels too
  • Qualifications = what you leave school with. You need them to really get any job. If you leave school without them, you can pretty much be promised a life of manually crappy jobs and low pay
  • chemist= drugstore
  • plaster = bandaid
  • jacket potato = baked potato (and they put weird things on as toppings, like corn and tuna)
  • threw a wobbly = got mad
  • porridge = oatmeal
  • Hen night = Bachelorette party
  • prawns = shrimp. Never see the word shrimp here. Not that I can eat them.
  • programme = program
  • estate car = station wagon
  • overtake = pass
  • motorway = expressway/freeway
  • roundabout = driving circle, except people know how to navigate them, unlike DuPont Circle

Tuesday, 22 February 2005

truth

I saw two (!) women wearing leg warmers today.

Monday, 21 February 2005

how COULD I have forgotten?

So integrated that I have simply swallowed them without notice.

washing up = doing the dishes
washing up liquid - dishwashing soap
kitchen roll= paper towels
cling film = saran wrap
loo = toilet
in a tick = in a mo, in a minute, shortly
postman = mailman
Bob's your uncle = there you are
fancy = like , as in "I fancy a coffee, do you?" Or "she does not fancy him."



Sunday, 20 February 2005

more englishisms

  • chav = white trash/ghetto cool, but trying too hard. Like too much Burberry with a gold chain or your low riders riding so low people see your thong in full view. Also trucker caps. See J Lo. Also B Spear's hubby
  • travelers = not like gypsies, Mark declares, as I try to write "gypsies". People who choose to live in vans and buses on the outskirts of villages and "travel about" when the farmers who own the land kick them off. They do odd jobs and so not participate in regular society. Note: I am fascinated with these people and am constantly asking Mark the difference between the UK homeless, the yobs and the travelers (you know, gypsies) and he is sick of answering questions, so if any of you have any intelligence on the subtle differences, please write in.
  • dinner ladies = lunch ladies (even though they call it lunch here)
  • Sloane girls = IT girls
  • working class= blue collar workers
  • leisure center = gym
  • nail varnish = nail polish
  • fag = ciggie, cigarette
  • government artist = people on the dole -- who live on social security (welfare)
  • spotted dick = sponge with currents, a.k.a cake with raisins

A correction

  • kit= uniform, as opposed to my previous definition of undies. " Get your kit off"

Friday, 18 February 2005


Course work complete! Certification program starts in April! Posted by Hello

carol with new carol brady haircut Posted by Hello

Tuesday, 15 February 2005

course work -- check

I am finished with my class!

I have successfully completed 116 (!) hours of life coaching training. It seems like a big number. And it feels like I was there all of those 116 hours, too. I mean, I was really there. Not like when you take a class for work --- and spend time thinking about lunch or your nails, or noticing how much you'd like to be sleeping.

This was an entirely new experience because I wanted to be there. What we were learning was captivating, engrossing, human, scary, emotional and risk taking. I learned what is possible when I am actually trying, instead of standing on the sidelines and mocking. I can say without irony or sarcasm that it was one of the hardest, challenging, fulfilling things I have done.


I have made new friends and shared this slice of learning with some amazingly brave and smart people. I learned how to be fearless by watching their courage. I learned to be loose by seeing creativity at hand. I learned to be vulnerable by seeing their pain. I went into this series of classes with an open mind and am leaving with a very full one.


What's next? I have signed up for the 6-month certification program, which will build on the skills I learned. At the end of those 6 months I take an exam and then if I pass, I am certified! I need to continue to work with my clients, maybe get a few new ones, and gain hours and keep learning. Soon I will be pushing out my web site, with thanks to the talented Mike Bateman who is helping on design. I will have business cards, marketing materials. A shingle.


Yeah- it is real.

Tuesday, 8 February 2005

today is Pancake Day. I am not kidding



I have been seeing signs everywhere for Pancake Day. I thought -- "how nice -- like a pancake breakfast for a school or something." But then people at work started talking about it. Wha?

Apparently it is an Actual internationally recognized Day. Jeez -- is February THAT dull that we need to name a day after flapjacks? Well, here it should really be called Crepe Day -- because what they call pancakes are FAR from I-Hop's ideas.

Actually, pancake day's official title is Shrove Tuesday -- hich is the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. Since Lent is a time of abstinence - traditionally of meat, fat, eggs and dairy products - so Shrove Tuesday was the day to consume the last of the fat, eggs and dairy products in the kitchen prior to this period.

I think this is also the notion behind Fat Tuesday -- although that seems so much more about jazz and public drinking.

For those of you who are as un-enlightened as I was -- read all about the
history of Pancake Day. And Shrove Tuesday.

Proving that it really is the tumbleweed season of activity.

Monday, 7 February 2005

check -- not quite mate

News flash - I just played my very first ever game of chess. Yes, the intellectual, thoughtful game of strategy and logic. Yes, all the way through. And yes, without knocking the game to the floor in a pouty swoop because I was losing.

Mark has long been coveting a chess set and broke down and got a really cool one with hand-made pieces. Since his options of players includes, well, me only, he gave me a shot as student.

We broke free from our part-ay hart-ay tradition (Um, the dance club was, um closed?) and took over the living room, fire lit, on our raging Saturday night to play. I even had a scotch to make me feel more gentile and worldly. And smart. We reviewed all the pieces (I like the knights -- the jumpers) and what they can do/how they function on the board/ how to get the other guy's pieces and eventually, get the king. Every move is either to advance or protect. Makes one think before acting. Not a bad axiom for living... I thought...Cool. I took notes. And (god love Mark) before each move, I got to ask my handicap beginner question, "is this a dumb move?" Low and behold -- it almost never was!

Per Mark, he was "genuinely surprised" at my quick study of the chess concept. I think it has a lot to do with the chess piece personalities. The pawns are abundant and you can lose one without caring too much -- the aforementioned knights are cool and can do some damage, the bishops are only so so and have a small range, the castle is also a little limited, the king is basically the least powerful guy on the board, but everyone protects him -- and last but not least -- the queen is the shit. She can go anywhere, in any direction and as far as she wants. Like in life.

Somehow -- this little storyline in my head made the logic seem more like the A List for a party then a studied and sleepy game. Plus, the scotch really IS the perfect companion. Slow sippers.

The next challenge -- configuring 3-letter words besides C-A-T in a rousing match of spelling and wit in Scrabble.

This, people, is what life coaching can get ya.

Tuesday, 1 February 2005

more

yob = rowdy drunkard, also lager lout
poorly = sick, as in "I am going home, I feel poorly"
weekEND = WEEKend -- just a cultural emphasis, "Any plans for the weekEND?"
nipper = little kid
ta/cheers = means all and any of these: thanks, bye, see you later, good for you, yay
pensioner = senior citizen/retiree
kit = undies
petrol = gas
doner kebab = gyro
trainers = tennis shoes
pants = undies (Never tell someone you like their pants)
trousers = pants

go on my son = you go girl
footie = football, a.k.a soccer
lurgie = short for allergy, as in "I am home poorly with the lurgie"