Golden Nuggets

A dear friend from my Russian company recently discovered my blahg, and his comments inspired me to go back and have a look myself.  I was surprised to realize that Lola has been biting back for more than three years now!  

A golden nugget from 13 July, 2005;

Things to do before I’m dead; PART 1

Defect from the United States.

Learn at least three more languages.

Do humanitarian work in the third world.

Become a teacher (English, then yoga).

Write something that gets published.

Live on a farm with a goat named Chuck.

Learn to dance.

Spend three months camping on an island with my Swiss Contingent.

Travel across Northern Africa.

Let's see...I'm an English teacher now, so I guess I can go ahead and check that one off.  As for the other things; I'm working on my French, I guess I'm "publishing" my blahg, and if I haven't actually "defected" from the good ol' US of A (ahhh the hyperbole..), then I've at least managed to locate myself outside of it for an extended period of time.  As for my dreams about that goat named Chuck and travelling across North Africa, neither one has diminished in the slightest and both even made recent appearances in the blahg!  If overall progress is slow, at least I'm consistent in my desires!

A quick update on my prospects for gainful employment:

Looks like I may have a TWO WEEKS painting contract coming up!  I was starting to think maybe I didn't have as much painting skill as I thought, but Uncle Frank has come through for me, and I am ready to get down and dirty.

A friend of a friend has offered to cart me around all day tomorrow introducing me to all his contacts at the Lester B. Pearson School Board in North Montreal.  He says they are desperate for teachers and "Integration Aides," people who help kids with disabilities integrate into regular classes.  Cross those fingers, my friends, it's a long shot, but this work would be a dream come true..

After a week of thoughtful consideration, I finally finished my cover letter for a teaching job in France.  Now I have only to send it...

What else?  I continue to clean Norb's condo for him, meeting and greeting the peoples who parade in and out on a weekly basis.  The work has given me new appreciation for maids and housecleaners.  Now that I've cleaned the place a few times, I wonder only this: why do people leave toenails all around?  It's one thing to clip them off in the living room, okay, but why just leave them there when there's a waste basket less than five meters away?  Can anyone explain to me why people don't throw away their own toenails???

love and kisses,

Lola Marie