Rolling along...

Well, it looks like I'm going to have to be more diligent with this blog because I didn't mean for the posts to be a month apart. I'll try to post more (for my mom's sake at the very least).

The past month has been pretty much all training. I spent a week in Waco, TX in a classroom, a week in Belton, TX in a classroom, and then a couple of weeks at my regular office in Austin doing on the job training. It's been cool so far and I've been meeting a ton of people and especially getting to know my fellow trainees (about 19 of us). The nice thing is - I'm getting paid the same amount for this training as I do for my regular job so it's a pretty sweet gig.

As far as the non-job aspects of my life go:

-Erika is in Miami right now and is actually about to come visit me in Austin this week. She's figuring out where she wants to live in America now that she's back for good from the UK.
-I've taken a couple trips in the past month - One to Arizona to see Erika (she was visiting her cousin out there) and one to Tallahassee.
-I moved into a new place, but only temporarily. This is because I had to get out of my friend Ashley's place (She was being gracious enough to let me sleep on her floor for over a month - AND FOR FREE!) and it just so happened that a friend of hers needed a roommate for just about two months. This bought me some time and now I am trying to figure out where I will live more permanently. This is kind of hard, however, because of the fact that Erika might possibly come to live in Austin, as well as James Cooper (albeit less possible).

We'll see what happens with the living situation...right now I'm enjoying my flight benefits on Continental (they run out Oct. 29th) and trying to stay stress-free with everything else.

New Post, Same Blog

Well, I decided to bring the old blog back into existence now that so much has changed with my life. Lemme bring you up to speed:

1.) I moved back from London, England to Lakeland, FL (my parent's house) in late May '07.
2.) I hung out/took road trips/watched a lot of Flip That House for about two months.
3.) I ended up deciding to move to Austin, TX (basically on a whim).
4.) I stayed with a friend for a few weeks until I found a job (rent free too! THANKS ASH!)
5.) I flew back to Florida, saw some friends, welcomed my girlfriend Erika back into the United States (a whole other story worthy of it's own entry), and packed up as much stuff as I could into a few suitcases before my final flight to become a true citizen of Texas.

...and that's pretty much it. I think I might write a book called "Five easy steps to a new life" based on my experiences.

So as of today I have put in my first week at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. I am a Child Protective Investigator in training (we train for about 3 months before I get my own case load). I'm sure I'll have plenty to write about over the next few months/years so just stay posted. It should be an interesting time...

Actually...

Well, things didn't quite turn out like I thought they would for my last bit of time in Britain. I never started my job at the Borough of Bromley Social Work agency. I'm actually home in Lakeland right now at my parent's house.

I'm going to start work here in town at a temporary job while I figure out where I'm going to move (Target moving date = Labor Day). So yeah, America is my place of residence now. How 'bout that?

I got a Job

So yeah, I guess I start work next Wednesday for the Bromley Council. How 'bout that?

The agency that I've been talking to set up my interview for when I got back from Italy (pictures coming soon) and today I went in and talked with one of the managers from the "Older Person's Team". I think I'll be helping review cases and doing other social work stuff while I'm there.

The whole "finding a job" process was something I was kind of worried about for this summer but now that I have something, I'm chuffed! Pints on me!

Back in London-Town

Well, I just spent a week in America and now I'm back in my country of origin (well, in terms of like, 8 generations ago maybe...I'm sure we have at least ONE British ancestor in the family).

My week at home was great and I want to thank all my family and friends who made so wonderful. I'll see you all soon enough again, as I am coming home in mid-June for good.

I am actually already packing my bags again to go meet my mom in Italy for a long weekend so I'll have to cut this post short. I'll write more whenever I get back.

I'm off to have a much-needed Curry (the one true thing I will miss for the rest of my life here in London).

See ya
Bren

Last Days at Work

Well, it's almost quitting time for me here at Positive East. The place that has been my home for 32 hours a week for the past semester will no longer be a part of my daily routine. No more wonderfully large lunches from the canteen. No more talking about where everyone is going for their 6-week holiday. No more taking the cramped tube from the West end of London all the way to the East end (alright I'm not gonna miss this one too much).

I know I'm being a bit dramatic about all this but I am going to miss this place. The people here made my experience so much fun and the clients I got to help really opened up my eyes to some international issues I might not otherwise have learned about. I'll definitely miss this place.

I've put some pictures up of the office I work in. I had to send an essay and some pics of me "in action" back to the Human Rights Group who gave me a small stipend to do this internship. I didn't really know what they meant by "in action" so I just took some obviously posed pictures with the help of my colleagues. Here they are:

Here is a picture of me looking intently at a file with my coworker:

These fake "pointing at words on a sheet of paper" shots are great

Another intent look from me. I love the fact that Tseguy is smiling directly at the camera when I am clearly concerned with an African Team email that is being written.

Two Posts for the Price of One!

This is basically a direct rip-off of one of Gabe's blog posts a month or two ago but I'm still doing it anyway. *ahem*

Who beat me up in the picture below? None other than Jess "The Joker" Liaudin! Okay, while he's not as famous as the guys my brother grappled with when he got his bruises (Forrest Griffin and Rory Singer), Jess is well-known in the European fight circuit and has even fought Shonnie Carter before (he was the only fighter I recognized from Jess' record).

So yeah, I went to the London Pancrase gym a little while ago to do some kickboxing and grappling and they kicked my ass. It was great! My arm still hurts from an armbar one of the guys put on me but all the rest of the cuts and scrapes have healed. It was so nice to mix it up again because I haven't done any kind of fighting for months. I've only been a handful of times to the gym but whenever I stop my internship and start a PAYING job I think I'm going to sign up for the butt-kicking on at least a weekly basis.

Nothing Much Going On

At the request of some anonymous comment I'm writing a post...finally. My lack of blogging lately can pretty much be summed up like this - nothing's really happening! Seriously, while I did have a wonderful Easter weekend in the English countryside (I'm just waiting for the pictures to be uploaded to post on that), there hasn't been much else to write about. The days in which I have some free time are pretty much the same lately. Here are a couple of things I might do:

-Discuss with Erika when we should go to Tesco to get groceries
-Cook the groceries mentioned above
-Figure out which pub we're going to after work on Friday
-Argue with Erika about whether or not we should move back to the States
-Plan future trips we're taking
-Talk in British accents to amuse ourselves

And that's about it. In all honestly I haven't done much to talk about. I'm getting ready for home next week when I fly back to America to graduate. That's exciting. As soon as THAT happens I'll probably have much to write about. Until then...British life as usual.

Back in the U.S. of A.

So I'm traveling back to Florida in about 3 weeks to walk at my graduation (please come). I can't wait to go because the thought of visiting is really exciting! I'll get to see my parents and brothers and sisters and friends and everybody I haven't seen the whole semester. My favorite part will undoubtedly be telling all the cool and interesting stories I have to the locals because anything international always garners a little more enthusiasm. Also, I can wow everyone with my knowledge about pints and Chavs!

After thinking about all this and then reading the blog of my brother and sister-in-law (the latest entry is about moving - http://modaresibeal.blogspot.com/2007/04/dilemma.html), I am really considering moving back to the states as my best option once my work visa runs out over here in London (June 27th). Much to the dismay of my girlfriend, who really wants to stay, this option has been at the forefront of my mind for a little while now. I don't think I'd move back home anywhere in Florida though (for longer than a couple of months at least). I've been thinking a lot about California for some reason lately. I guess I am still in a sort of "adventure mode" and don't quite want to find that "perfect place to settle" yet. I do want to get a more permanent job, however, and NOT spend my days in a new place doing unpaid work or waiting tables. I'm up for any kind of social work job though.

I guess I'll just keep feeling my way through all this. I've made so many pros and cons lists (again, I just saw one on Gabe and Shirin's blog) I'm really getting sick of them. There seems to be no good way to make this decision so perhaps I'll just flip a coin. I guess we'll see...

SPAIN!

We went to Barcelona a couple weeks ago and now we finally have the pictures loaded up. The trip was taken with myself, Erika, and our friend Lauren Kelley. Lauren is actually a friend from Florida State that happened to be on the same work visa as Erika and I. We all shared a small, loud hostel room and ran all around this wonderful city. Take a look:

This is us drinking some very good sangria and eating tapas at a little cafe on the main street

_

Me receiving a gift from a winged golden woman

The market we found was pretty awesome. We ended up buying some meat, cheese, bread, and wine and having a picnic in a park at the very top of a hill. Nice place.

The obligatory "Japanese Tourist" picture

Our hostel room was soooooo small. Our tiny room fit 8 beds. You pretty much see the entire room in this picture. Quality establishment.

Even though we couldn't swim in the fountain we could still take exciting pictures

Erika hates fish

Notice the golden whale in the background



The people in the background were amazed at my jumping abilities