hi from london- 2nd edition/ awesome,texas

it was slightly heartbreaking being in austin without the usual lot of us, but im not going to lie, i had an awesome time
this is hamilton pools! its incredible, the drive out to it is all windy cowboy land, then the little hike to it, is so pristine and perfect!





This is pauls first all american breakfast, he was very excited about this maple syrup on his bacon thing they do out there

An illustrated blog! HOW 'EDGE-CELLENT'! (Ho ho ho!)

So here's an introduction to Dance Cave, which is HELLA FUN and we'll definitely be spending time falling over/falling out of there when you're here Woollard...(p.s. click on the pics to see them in their full glory)

Kelly introduced me long ago to the physical wonder that is 'finning'. All I'll say is that it's a more subtle way of indicating an attractive male than actually going up to him and pointing at his face, or even worse, 'HI I'M VICKY, I'M HELEN'S FRIEND, ERRRRR...BYE'

The artwork in Dance Cave largely consists of females with hairy armpits...

And you remember the Asian dancing man I mentioned before...HERE HE IS IN THE FLESH!!! Check out Catt's dancing skills...I'm pretty sure there was smoke coming off the dancefloor from the HOT MOVES they were collectively pulling!

Inevitably the night ended in none other than the glorified chip shop that is Sneaky Dee's (and I mean that in the most affectionate way)

I can't remember what this was that I was eating, but by the looks of things, I quite enjoyed it. Now you see it...

...and now...you don't.

All in all a very very good night :) But if the night had in any way been rubbish, the very sight of this bike outside Sneaky Dee's would have surely rectified the situation...

Nope...your eyes are NOT deceiving you...that's an actual bike, that we saw with our eyes. I'm not even lion! BaaaaaaaaaHahahahahahahahahahahahaha

BYE BYE LOVE YOU! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And now a word from my housemate Dennis...

'The thing about Vicky is, the big things she can totally do, like moving to a different country, finding an apartment, finding a job, making a load of new friends, but it's the little things she can't do, like operating a washing machine, and grating cheese.'

Yeah. What he said.

xxx

An Egg-straordinary Easter

Sorry girls, I couldn't resist from CRACKING the joke above! Ho ho ho!

Firstly, I must start by saying that lately all of my dreams have been about flying home for the day and seeing all you girls (and my family of course) but I think that might mean I'm slightly homesick...unfortunately not homesick enough to come home, you're still far better off coming to me instead :) One month Woolly! One month! :)

So lately my life has been consumed by my new job which is A STUPID AMOUNT OF HARD WORK for just becoming a server! I'm not even remotely exaggerating when I say that I have actual homework (multiple hours' worth of) for each training shift and I have to have an actual verbal exam and 100% pass before I can go on the floor! It's mental, actually quite exhausting and slightly stressful because the longer I train, the less time I'm earning money and right now I'm SO broke. But I'm going to knuckle down to my studies this week and pray that it won't last that long!

But anyways...HAPPY EASTER! This is slightly late now as it's Easter Sunday night but whatever! Last night Kelly and I needed a night out and we wanted to go somewhere completely new (the remit was: NO Sneaky's) so we decided to go to Dance Cave, which I'd been told was amazing by many people and I'm pleased to say that they were CORRECT! However that wasn't before we stopped by McDonald's so Kelly could get fries and I could get coffee (I'd had maybe two hours' sleep the night before...see: stressful job training) and a guy had stood by mine and Kelly's table listening to us talk, then loudly proclaiming 'I love your accent! Your accent...TURNS ME ONNNNN!'...RUN KELLY! RUN!

Back to Dance Cave: Imagine a cross between the Bassment NOT SUBCULTURE and Corp in terms of the setting (it's just one room) and maybe Hospital Radio for the music with a bit of Juvi and you're about there! SO fun! They played Gaslight Anthem, any place like that is alright by me! We got there way before midnight, which is a shocker in itself when you consider that I was involved, and it was still a little empty, but the first two people on the dance floor busted out some moves that I'm pretty sure have never before been invented, never mind allowed in public, which was highly entertaining while Kelly and I got drunker and drunker on CHEAP-ASS vodka and whiskey. It seems that unfathomable dance moves were the order of the evening as a Japanese guy that had been stood very still by the edge of the dance floor the entire night (apparently he's there doing that every night, and refuses to dance or even acknowledge anyone until a song he loves comes on, and then he doesn't stop dancing for the rest of the evening) exploded into some kind of insane, deranged dance routine to RATM...lunges? Check. Dropping it like it's hot? Check. Big fish, little fish, cardboard box? You're getting this by now...

Another thing I liked about Dance Cave was a boy there that looked like a 23-year old Ben Gibbard, I actually found the courage to tell him he was CUTE but WHAT A BLOODY SHOCKER I think he was GAY. Same goes for two boys that had been dancing by Kelly and I all night, they came and asked us to dance with them but by the sounds of their voices and mannerisms they'd much rather have been dancing with each other, with no clothes on, but neither of them had actually realised this yet. Oh well, we got a drink out of them, far better than an inadvertent bumming. We saw one of my housemates' friends in Dance Cave, who shall remain nameless to protect her identity, and we had a blast dancing together all night and nameless girl threw a drink all down Kelly in the most hilarious fashion before suddenly making out with a boy and leaving hand in hand with him very shortly after - that's skill for you! When it came time for us to leave Kelly (who was extremely drunk) and I (who was not really that drunk, annoyingly) went to get the streetcar home, got persuaded to go to a nearby bar with a random dude at the streetcar stop to impress his friends before realising the bar was closed (I should have bloody seen this coming - he was wearing SANDALS), returning to the streetcar stop, getting into some weird argument with some tossers stood there, god knows what about, whinging about how the streetcar was taking forever to arrive and only THEN realising that we were stood on the wrong side of the road. We ended up getting a taxi down the road in the end, to...guess where?...SNEAKY DEE'S! By this time they weren't serving alcohol but we ordered all-day breakfasts and I'm sure I put away an amount of food that would have made a man twice my size cry. There's amazing before-and-after pictures of this on Kelly's camera - also on this camera are pictures of a bike we saw outside Sneaky's that was masquerading as a LION. I can't even explain this bike. You'll just have to wait and see. :)

Today Kelly and I felt fantastic - thanks, Sneaky's! I started the day by baking cupcakes for Kelly as a belated birthday cake and we had the loveliest day getting breakfast in Kensington Market in the sunshine...



...wandering around the vintage shops, being baffled by the sheer volume of vintage cardigans embroidered with cactuses, befriending the crusty punks, being aghast at a girl in Kensington walking around wearing a belly top (and she wasn't a 'small' girl either), getting ice creams, almost being run over by cars, playing on the swings, me crying at Kelly trying to climb up a kid's playhouse in the park and completely getting stuck...



...both of us crying at three guys in the park playing catch and dropping the ball EVERY SINGLE TIME, enjoying the view of the boys that work in the bike shop, decorating cupcakes...



...and going for dinner with Dennis and his aforementioned friend who we saw last night and getting filled in on ALLLLL the gossip after she left...of which there was lots!...too good! Tooooooo good!

Anyway I just realised this was a very long and rambling blog, but I'll leave you with this moment today which made me actually shed tears:

Kelly (to me, taking baking tray out of the oven that she didn't know was filled with cupcakes): What is it?! Vicky, you're teasing me. I can smell it, I can see it.
Dennis (immediately): That's what HE said.

LOVE YOU ALL THE MOST XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'Oh? It's a melon? I thought it was a cheese...'

Yeah sorry Liena it took me a while to figure out what all those little pictures were in reference to...in my defence though Helen didn't know what the Descendents reference was about but that's definitely not as bad as me not being able to recognise fruit :( Breadcake/Flamingo Love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Distance makes the heart grow fonder...

First and foremost, apologies to Breadcake are in order... I've been slack in getting skype and contacting you. I feel we've been terribly low on GOSSIP without you here!
You look like you've settled SO amazingly in TO... and I'm super proud of you for being brave and going out to a new city and starting out on your own! GO team BREADCAKE! I miss you SO much! We just had a Shelena evening and your presence as always was greatly missed!
Anyway, I'm not going to go all bridezilla on you but just so you know I finally got a killer sparkler on my finger and we have booked our wedding on the 4th June 2011, 3pm. Harewood House! Right next to the penguins and flamingos! So to all you fine ladies, make sure you put it in your diaries... I don't want anyone to book any Texas holidays and miss it! and CAWTHORNE consider this a deadline for your return ;)
As for news on the Schneider-Wilson-Tanaka-Wright holiday, we had a blast and I'm sure it won't be the last holiday we have together... I would love to report back to you all and let you know that The Schneider Wilsons tied the knot at the Little White Chapel but unfortunately there was no wedding - (we all know Nicola, Brian and Evelyn would have to be present!) - plus we never found the little white chapel!
We did all the essentials, checked out the casions, fluttered a wee bit on the roulette machines (Black 4 was a winner for us all thanks to Mr Stanley Sommerville's predictions!) and on the gambling for beginners type big wheel!

We visited the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and did all the touristy things -

Shell and James went to see Penn & Teller one night - I have no idea who they are but i guess they are a big deal! Their show sounded incredible and I'll leave it to Shell to tell all about it! Niall and I went to see "O" which is the Cirque Du Soleil at the Bellagio which was incredible- It was unlike anything I've ever witnessed before with a stage that changed from a diving pool to a regular stage within seconds, about 80 acrobats / synchronized swimmers/divers and the most unreal stage/stage set ever.

Another highlight was the best show I have ever ever ever been to in my life ever! Mega thanks to the Schneider-Wilsons for getting the tickets, we got to go to the NFG 10th Anniversary tour at the House of Blues. Supports were Fireworks (amazing!), HelloGoodbye (amazing!), Saves the Day (boring- Chris Connelly and a backing band) and the incredible NFG who played the entirety of NFG, NFG to which we all new the words to every single song!!! it was just unbelievable! Like a sixteen year old mega fan I got the setlist from the lighting guy and bought a poster and an incredible shirt. All of which I will be getting framed to commemorate the amazingness of the show! SUPER GEEK!

In other news I bought back some grape flavoured pop tarts from Walmart in Vegas and they taste like grape Hi-Chew... hmmm YUMM!!!
Its 1 am at the moment so I must be jetlagged as you all know its well after my bed-time!
Love you all and can't wait till we are all in the same room together!
Bearlove x

Blogged Down...

Dearest ladies...sorry for being away from the blog for so long, I have barely had time to breathe...I'm very excited for my day off tomorrow which will be spent stressing over bills both here and back home and wondering which limb I'm going to sell to pay them! :(

Liena and Shell I'm so glad you had a good time in Vegas but slightly disappointed that neither of you came back married! Well, not disappointed really because I would have been mad to miss out - however very excited by rumours of your sparkler Liena, I insist on pictures IMMEDIATELY! And don't you worry I shall not miss your wedding day even for the whole world - especially not now you've thrown real life flamingoes into the mix!!

And thank you for being so proud of me :) I'm not doing bad I suppose! I've been keeping in mind that a year travels fast so I've been taking as many opportunities as possible. I'm just super frustrated right now because my money situation is bad but I start my new job on Tuesday so it's going to only get better from here! :) I miss you ladies so much though...everything would be sooo much better if you were around!

Soooo where have I been...well the weekend before last was my most fun weekend in Canada yet! It began on the Friday night with a trip to the cinema with my housemate Dennis (who is HILARIOUS and I LOVE HIM) and his boyfriend to see Alice in Wonderland 3D. It wasn't as amazing as I'd hoped, it definitely was no House Bunny, but it was fun especially as we went to the midnight showing at the IMAX! Tiredness + 3D = loopy! Then the next day marked the beginning of the road trips, I went out to Scarborough to meet Andy because I was staying with her all weekend, we ate pizza and wings with her friend Dan and then their friend invited us to go visit her at work - she's a security guard on the set of TV show Degrassi! I totally shouldn't be putting this on the internet but we ran round the set for about an hour looking in all the rooms and at all the props, and going outside onto the fake streets and into the fake corner shop with the fake cheeses and sandwiches in the fake chiller! I took loads of pics but I'm not allowed to post them online because she could get into trouble(for obvious reasons) so you'll just have to take my word for it :(

The next day we drove to London, Ontario for the Trapped Under Ice, Polar Bear Club, Four Year Strong and Every Time I Die show! <3 maaaaaaaaan too too too good! Unfortunately we Mapquested the directions so ended up driving in the opposite direction for an inappropriately long time, but some helpful policemen by the side of the road helped us, it didn't help that we also drove past a pretty bad car crash on the way there but WE MADE IT and it was so fun! TUI didn't go down too well with the ETID crowd I must say, I just don't think the kids were ready for Jurtice's moves and the amount of camo that was on the stage right then, it looked like an advert for the Terratorial Army. PBC were immaculate as always and I lost my voice singing along, FYS were fun as hell, ETID were good but I'm kinda 'over' them I think! Emmett and Chris Browne kindly sorted us with guestlist for the next night in Kitchener, we drove there the next day super early and arrived at 4pm with nothing to do in the crappy non-town that is Kitchener, we did however find a hilarious German shop (no really) where we laughed at actual-for-real lederhosen costumes and amusing wigs and then wandered into a little shopping centre where a shop was actual-for-real called 'Hip Hop Store' (clearly they didn't employ the services of Breadcakes' Brandnames for their store), but then that was it for the all-too-brief entertainment value of Kitchener town centre so we went back to the venue, grabbed Emmett and went to find where the real fun was - across the road in the Irish pub, where we drank Strongbow and pitchers and ate chicken wings until it was time to go back to the venue, hurrah! We watched the show from side stage (definitely a good thing because the place was rrrrrrrrrrammmmmmmmmmmmmmmed!) and felt like children at Christmas, hung out a bit more after the show and then the fun was over for the weekend so off back to TO we went :( I love road trips so hard!

I caught up with a couple more old friends later in the week too - Erik Perkins and Billy Bean who we know from No Trigger but are now in Outbreak! They were playing a show further up my road (I love being able to say that, haha) so I tottered up there to say hello, then went to Sneaky's for drinks for my friend Kelly's birthday, then after the show the boys came to Sneaks and we carried on drinking and gossiping until 3.30am...and I had to be up at 6.45am for work. Hardcore! So worth it though! They had the best tour bus ever, it was like an actual bus with the sliding doors and the lot, so pimped! It's so funny/weird but awesome hanging out with people I know in a different country...so you kids hurry up and book your flights. Haha <3

Last weekend Andy told me she wanted to take me to a bar she'd told me about called the Madison - it turned out it's a frat bar on a street of frat houses! Too too good! I felt like I was in an episode of Greek with all the houses with the symbols on the front! The bar itself was HUUUUUGE, four floors or something of students and overpriced imported booze (hi @ 14 bucks for two ciders, do one mate!) and it was rammed but super fun! I shouted at a boy's face that HE HAD AN AMAZING BEARD, WELL DONE, and I don't remember being in the pizza shop afterwards but I have had flashbacks of dipping my pizza into some random boy's dipping sauce. I really hope I actually asked his permission first otherwise somewhere out there is one very annoyed sauceless dude.

In other news, basically my current job is so boring it makes me want to rip out my eyes and the eyes of everyone in a ten-mile radius but occasionally a few funny things happen which staves off my emotions temporarily, the highlights of the past fortnight being:
1. Sarah Jessica Parker coming for a fashion launch and her walking past me, she seriously does look like a twiglet in a coat.
2. A man walking around dressed in drag. Not even in an ironic way. I'm not kidding - a full-skirted pink dress, a black floppy hat, a tutu, white knee socks and black pumps. See this would be funny enough but this is what happened next - I texted a message to my friend Kelly on facebook (because she doesn't have a Canadian phone so it's cheaper this way) telling her about the man and wittily ending it with 'I didn't realise Leichenstein was back in town' (our nickname for the boy from Leichenstein she met in the hostel that she's now seeing, and is currently in Switzerland, and is added to my facebook) except I did it all wrong and ACCIDENTALLY SET THE WHOLE MESSAGE AS MY STATUS FOR THE WORLD TO SEE and had to call someone to log into my facebook and delete it before anyone saw. Holy hell, I'm retarded sometimes (all the time)
3. Looking out of the window yesterday and realising a big group of men were sticking leaves onto the bare branches of trees in a park outside my work. Today they had even added flowers. I'm really hoping that it's for a movie shoot of some kind, and not just because the trees were getting a bit cold.
4. Meeting someone from a big Canadian fashion magazine (called...wait for it...'Fashion'), charming the pants off them and them giving me their business card and telling me they'll do whatever they can to hook me up! Whhooooooooooooooop!

But yeah other than that it's excruciating so I cannot waiiiiiit to start my job at Hard Rock next week! I knew I said I wouldn't go back to serving but it's not like it's any old serving job...it's going to be tons of fun :) Plus I had to have three interviews for this job - it must be good!

I will be sure to post up pics of my RRRRRREEEEEEEALLY SEXY HR uniform and let you know how my first shift goes. I have 7 nights of training and then a test on the menu on which I have to get 100% otherwise I have to keep on training...it's so intense! But will be so worth it when I can afford to eat AND pay my rent...it's quite nice when that happens eh.

I thought to illustrate my blog I'd attach some pics :)
1. Katie and I in the German shop with our new hats. You like?
2. Emmett + lots of alcohol = hurrah!
3. Andy has weird thumbs that go at a 90 degree angle...
4. My workmate Julia's glasses party - a spec-tacular success! :)
5. Look! a real-life frat house!

Also, Andy told me a great quote this week that I felt was prolific - 'No lapse of time or distance of place can lessen the friendship of those who are truly persuaded of each others' worth' ...and on that lovely note, I love you all soooooooo much and miss you even more!!! <3 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Party Pop!

So after a weekend full of work, I only had time to have dinner with Liena, Niall, Shell and James on Sunday night before they left to find their fortunes in Vegas for a fortnight! On Tuesday I had a pretty eventful day....

So 8am Faye, of Junction 27 TGI Fridays fame came and picked me up so we could head to London for a conference we were invited to. DRIVING TO OXFORD CIRCUS IS THE WORST IDEA IVE EVER HAD EVER! What on earth were we thinking! It took us nearly an hour to go three miles!! Jesus wept kidda I was getting frustrated to say the least! Ha well anyway... The meeting was good and we managed to make it back to leeds in 4 hours, which to say we were stuck in 50 mph zones for a long time I was pretty impressed by!

So faye dropped me off in Leeds City Centre and I met Elle at the O2 Academy to see you me @ 6, who, even though I don't listen to them a lot, are insanely good live! I mainly went to see Phil who was touring with Forever the sickest kids, but completely failed! I did see Benji and Brendan though which was amazing and defo worth the trip out!

Then I slept on my beloved sofa in your old house and spent Weds hanging out with James and Elle which ruled :)

Miss your face xx
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Day off!

So last Thursday I decided to get tattooed by Cassie as she had some spare time so I headed to Harrogate and spent the afternoon being decorated :)

Then I rushed back to Leeds and met up with Farrell and Sam and headed to Manchester to see Your Demise, Architects and A day to remember, I actually can't explain how unbelievable packed out this show was, I was stood up on the balcony bit (thank god) and the crowd was rammed even back there! Who knew they were so popular!
The show was great though because the crowd went off for every band and there was a lot of good faces there (kam, stan, saker, sophie, Tom B) so all in all a pretty sweet day!

Oh and getting out of Manchester was hilarious, we got so frikin lost! Took us an hour to find the motorway, thankfully Sam drives like an absolute maniac and we made it back to Leeds in 40 mins! I was petrified to say the least!
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London says hi

Anyways..

iyer!

:D I miss you all megs bad-
but thought I'd give you a life update.

If you didnt know, I have a new hobby of urban exploration, and on sunday paul, hanran, penny, dale and me rented a car and drove down to west sussex, to visit an abandoned girls boarding school- it had actually only closed a year ago, and the whole plot is for sale- its all in spookily perfect condition





I was literally having seizures with every corner we turned and door we opened, as a grounds man had literally just been, and mustve been kicking around- a cupboard full of keys was just lying open, hedges freshly trimmed- so fresh infact that he had just left his ears protectors while he went and had.. a cup of tea? lunch? a fag behind the bike sheds? I thought we were just gonna walk straight into him..



It was really rad to get my brother out of the house- and the weather literally since march has been PERRRFECCTT down souf.


Here are some pictures of my previous explore- to an abandoned mental asylum in epsom. This one was heaps spooky.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24484647@N06/sets/72157622812571575/

Oh- then after the girls school- we went to have a picnic at the racton ruins.. supposedly an occult church and home to many an illegal hippy rave.





<3 Milo

Summer Days

So on Sunday the weather took a dramatic turn for the better and finally went above 8 degrees so Laurie and I decided to take the dogs to Golden Acre park for a stroll, but not before she cooked me and Danny Faj, who has passed out on the sofa after the BMX jam, superb bacon sandwiches! Cox joined in for the party, we got super muddy, ate ice creams and mainly chilled on a bench (in sunglasses and massive winter jackets because although sunny its still frikin freezing in Yorkshire!) But its a good way to work your hangover off and we had far too much of a good time guessing the names of every dog that wandered by and watching Pearl and Bert try rape them all!
They also managed to attack Laurie whilst she was having a nap on the bench aha!

Oh and that tiny dog in the pick was our favourite of the day! She was called Lola, Super tiny dogs are hilarious!
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Title Fight and Shook Ones

Oh man, this show, with Polar Bear Club headlining was seriously one of the best shows I have been to in such a long time! Real party mode, everyone in good spirits and a great crowd, the only downside was that the cockpit put it in room 2, it was clearly rammed full enough to have been in room 1!

Anyway, these guys all stayed, ate pizza, watched Jurassic Park and Jaws and lots of ridiculous you tube videos which they killed themselves laughing at! Ill have to post the funniest ones for you!

Other than that we just hung out, spoke about mutual friends, I introduced their vegan kid to hobnobs, he was pretty sold on them! And caught up on the Justice guys as Sike was driving the bands, so all in all pretty bloody good times! Xx
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These Girls Are Craaaaaaaaazy (Part 2)

The rest of my week, I'm afraid to admit, was distinctly uneventful. Life in the hostel wasn't fun anymore, it was just a pain in the ass, because I was having to get up earlyish for work and having to go find a bathroom to get ready in (and piss everyone off in the process) because I couldn't switch on the light in my room since everyone would still be sleeping. So I was stoked on life when yesterday (Saturday) finally rolled around! It was my mum's 60th birthday yesterday so I got to speak to her on Skype on my break at work in the cafe next-door which made me super happy, and straight after work I legged it back to the hostel, chucked all my stuff in a taxi and moved the hell in to my apartment!! I won't talk about how awkward the moving-in process was..I definitely already told you...but let me tell you that unpacking my suitcases and hanging up my clothes was more enjoyable than should probably even be allowed without supervision from an appropriate authority! Well I was being supervised, as Kelly had kindly popped over the road to help, she offered to assist me in unpacking but I just said 'honestly, no, I really am enjoying doing this' so she cooked me tea at her place instead, bless her, and we watched Failure To Launch (part of the Matthew McConaghey triple bill!) because she has cable TV in her room. Damn I miss adverts so much!!!!!

My first night in my apartment wasn't the best I must admit, you know I don't sleep well in unfamiliar environments and I had a whole range of new smells, sounds, sights and shites to get used to so I ended up going to work on two hours' sleep...not the best. This was clearly demonstrated by me completely misreading my work schedule and arriving almost a whole hour early...as in an hour before the shop even opened! Faillllll! So I went across the road to the Eaton Centre where some kind of early-morning dance class was taking place, right in the middle of the shopping mall, went to the food court and got an enormous McDonalds coffee and read my book. Lovely! When I finally started work it was disgracefully dead (blame the Olympics!) and I also had to deal with my first rude customer which didn't exactly detract from my sleep-deprived grumpiness and general boredom with standing around all day and occasionally hanging up some clothes. Never mind.

My day improved considerably though when I bit the bullet and asked Fubu if he could hook up guestlist for the NFG show...I do hate asking most of the time but there simply weren't tickets and if you don't ask, you don't get! He asked Chris of Fireworks if they had any spare slots (because apparently NFG hate when people ask...understandable) and eventually it came clear that there were no slots but there might be some tickets. At 30 bucks a pop I was prepared to pay for the tix but I was hoping it would damn well be worth it! At the very last moment, the tickets came through and I called up Tara and Kelly to ask if they wanted to go but they'd already made other plans for the evening and didn't really want to part with 30 bucks, which was fair enough. So I decided to ask Andy if she wanted to go, she'd said previously that she'd like to go but that she didn't have that kind of money spare but I was so pumped on going to the show that I thought it was worth an ask, I even offered to buy her ticket I wanted to go so bad. She said yes after checking her bank funds, but then as if by a stroke of a miracle Fubu texted me and told me that I was now on the guestlist with the tickets waiting under my name, this was at almost 6.30pm with Fireworks playing at 7pm so I went like streaked lightning over to the subway station to go meet Andy who was collecting me in her car ('Vicky, I just washed my hair in like, 20 seconds'...hahaha). Let me tell you that getting through the subway system was hard work, Canada had just taken gold and all out on the streets the cars were stopping in the road, people were waving their flags and yelling and dancing and high-fiving everyone and the underground was no different! When I got to the station Andy was picking me up at, I was waiting by the road and four dudes in a car drove past, leaned out their window and said. 'Hey, we've been send on behalf of the TTC (Toronto Transport Commission) to collect hot girls. Get in'. I just retorted 'UNNNNNLUCKY' and prayed Andy got here fast hahaha!

The show itself was at the Sound Academy, a warehouse-like venue outside downtown that seemed almost impossible/undesirable to get to if you didn't drive?! Put it this way, Andy locked the car doors when we were driving through the streets to get there! I was gutted when we got there because, as usual, I'd missed Fireworks, but not to worry too much as Hellogoodbye, Saves The Day and NFG were still to come! We found Chris of Fireworks fame, who had sorted out our list, and you know how I'm really awful at remembering everything? Well Chris was who I was hanging out with loads at Fuel that one and only time that we went and his mates beat up the Santa Claus!!! Honestly when he reminded me of that I was like OH MY GAWDDDDDD! The fog just cleared! I'm such a douche :( He was being such a dude introducing me to his female friends from Toronto and 'getting me in the social circle' hahaha! So good!

Back to the show, Hellogoodbye were fun and Andy liked them (she's never heard them before), HGB sound a lot heavier live which was hilarious! I'm sorry, Saves The Day, but your set was not hilarious. I do love a bit of Saves The Day, especially in the summer, but to watch them live is like watching paint dry. It's just like how I adore Death Cab For Cutie, but as soon as you stick them on stage, I'd rather be anywhere else. Just not gripping viewing in the slightest.

However, NFG's set was worth all the effort alone! Everyone was being thoroughly entertained before they played by a dude in the audience who was just rocking out to the overhead music like it was his last day on earth (you know there's always one...just like how there's always one, or a million, in the NFG shirts. Present and correct) but since it was the 10th anniversary tour of the NFG self-titled album, they played that in its entirety...my 15 year old self was crowd-surfing her little heart out! Jordan's voice blows me away, he never falters for entire sets, he consistently sounds like he's got a cold and I love it. Bless him. I love him. And his cold! They went off stage for a bit, acted like that was that, and then came back on with a different backdrop and played a bunch of 'new' stuff. They finished with My Friends Over You...of course...it's the song of the century I heard!



After the show Andy drove me home, she had some other friends in the car and as we drove through downtown the celebrations were still in full flow, so we wound down the windows and cheered at passers-by! Haha :) We also noticed that the CN Tower was lit up GOLD!!!



We got stuck behind a streetcar, but then we noticed that there was a passenger on the streetcar who was full-on bumping, grinding, shimmying and shaking with the pole, the seat and other passengers...god knows whether or not there was any music to accompany his dances but it most definitely topped off my night in the most appropriately ridiculous fashion!

Look forward to the following blogs from Vicky-land, coming in the next week or so...

- Through The Peehole - first exclusive shots of my apartment!...when I've got some damn furniture and I'm not using a carrier bag as my knicker drawer!
- Niagara Fails - We're going on 'holiday' to Niagara Falls this weekend and intend to get soaked, gamble and terrorise some hotel residents probably, so look forward to that one!
- Tard Rock Cafe - will Vicky get a job that doesn't make her want to kick everyone?
- Trapped Under Rice Krispies, Polar Bear Club Sandwich, Four Year Strongbow and Every Time I Pie - oh my god HELL YES we are road tripping to see these bands play together, possibly to more than one date! I think the correct term is 'TICK'

Ok bed time now, job interview in the morning...can't be late to my THIRD GODDAMN INTERVIEW THERE!

Love youuuuuu! <3

Some Girls Are Crrrrraaaaazyyyyyyyyyyy!

Well well well Woolly Edge I did enjoy those pics and blogs, it appears you're more dedicated to this blog than I am...or is it that I've spent the entire past week at work, then unpacking/packing/unpacking/moving rooms/packing/moving rooms/packing/unpacking/packing/moving into my apartment?! ...Oh that one!!! Right time for an update!!

So last weekend Andy and I decided to hit downtown! First stop was a club called Crocodile Rock to say hi to one of Andy's friends whose birthday was being celebrated there, we paid five dollar cover, did a shot each, said hello then had to hightail it to another club to meet up with another one of Andy's ace friends Vivek (the one whose condo I got too drunk in and almost destroyed the bowling alley), who bought us a delish Mojito each in a fancy bar and then got us in on guestlist to a club called Circa (normal cover is 25 bucks...YEAHHHHH RIGHT!) because one of his friends had hired a booth for her birthday that night! Love it! Partying!

So more about Circa...basically, it's the most mind-effing club I've ever been in! For starters, it has escalators between the floors (of which there are many)!!! Then there's the stilt-walkers, the fire-breathers, the acrobats from the ceiling, the guy playing electric guitar on stage along to the songs (bear in mind, the guitar wasn't plugged in at any point. DENIED), the toilets that had a shower in (with glass walls?) and also was decorated to look like a morgue, complete with fridges, the hairdressers' chair (and hairdresser...yeah you could sit and get your hair cut.) and the KidRobot themed room that had giant plastic rabbits that we totally forgot to take photos with!! I was having a ball and we took loads of pics in front of this amazing wall that was covered in...loads of pics! It's the one that's in my profile picture on facebook...yes maybe we enjoyed it a bit too much?! The only downside was that we didn't get much change from 20 bucks for two Amaretto Sours and I spent the night evading a weirdo whose opening line was 'You're not from Toronto. I know that. Nobody dresses like that in Toronto.'...weeeeeeeeeeird!

We bailed after a while though because we wanted to go back to Croc Rock! Now this is where things get messy, I've filled you in on the events that aren't bloggable ;) but let's just say I spent the latter part of the night being a thorough gobshite and ruining someone's life from a different country. Ha! After we left we went in search of burritos, then ditched the burritos and got McNuggets and snacks, and then JP ran over the top of an actual car right in front of a club and somehow, SOMEHOW, avoided getting shot!!

After that it was back to Scarboro for a good sleep in Andy's bed and then up early the next day to head to the beach! :)

First stop was Andy's mum's house! She cooked so many choc chip pancakes and insisted that I ate a ton of them, which I gladly did! I had such a good time hanging with her fam and meeting her siblings, I've missed the family dynamic so it took the edge off the homesickness I felt creeping in slightly. I also met her dogs Emma and Annie, Emma being a purebred British bulldog no wonder she wanted to jump on me and lick my face! :)

We piled into Andy's car and headed to the beach, I was surprised by how quickly we got there - it's so strange, Toronto's a really metropolitan, built-up city but the beach was literally just 'down the road' (as in, at the other end of the monolithic road that is Queen Street!) and it was SO gorgeous. It was a really fresh-feeling, nicely breezy day, the sun was shining but there was snow and ice on the rocks on the beach, definitely the best hangover cure. We also took Annie the dog for a walk because there's a special designated area on the beach for doggies, she had a blast playing fetch, finding balls hidden in the sand and doing massive dog poos! I saved one just for you Woollard, don't you worry. My favourite part of the beach was the little cove/inlet with a beach house and a jetty...apparently when the tide's really high and the waves are bad they crash over the jetty and it's fun to dodge them...hmmm I'll wait and see for that one!

After that we went to get Starbucks and I bought a fake American Apparel-style hoody from a place called Arlene...exact same quality, colour and softness but for half the price! I do love me a good bargain! Then we dropped off the lil' ones (the kids not the poos), and then I insisted that Andy took me to this restaurant by her house that serves Vietnamese food where I'd had the most incredible chicken and noodle rice paper wraps a few weeks back and once again it did not disappoint!!! I also got to meet her friend Dan who was a total sweetheart and dropped the bombshell that these Canadian freaks play i-Spy wrong! WRRRRRRRRRRRONGGGGGGG I TELL YOU!!! We attempted to go to the cinema later that night but we missed the showings of Shutter Island so instead we went to Tim Horton's for coffee and doughnuts, and I entertained Andy by walking through the drive-thru ATM...my God Helen, what have I become?! I'm a sheer rebel!

Beside's TGI's...

OK! Last one for now, other than working, the last week or so has been spent sorting our very belated Christmas Do! Thats where the pic of Gunner came from, as we met in Jakes bar for pre drinks before heading to a little club i'd hired out, Hugh DJ'd, i remember very little to be honest, I did the awards, which afterwards I realised that I had given most people the wrong prizes! (Like giving Gemma a Topman giftcard and Tom a Topshop one, and Elliot a piece of cardboard without a giftcard attached! Woops!) That took me a while to figure out but i sorted it eventually!

Anyway my night was cut short because Lil Gemma drank too much so I escorted her back to her halls, which was both hilarious and dangerous since we ended up face planting more than once (fuck knows how when i had flat boots on!) But i went home after that, I know when ive had enough!

Other than that ive been hanging out with my family and catching up on some me time which is a favourite passtime of mine as I'm sure you know!

The pic is of Ross eating a double quarter pounder with cheese squashed inside the free cheeseburger they give you for having a student card! Holy mackrel! Its a good job the youngest Woollard plays rugby 3 times a week!!


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Floorpunch!

So just to top off a busy 5 day stretch on the Tuesday Floorpunch played Leeds with True Colours and neverXagain (some of whom are in bxp with Saker).

To say it was 12 quid in, it was pretty packed, Floorpunch's only northern date so there were loads of people i've never seen before there which was a nice change, got to catch up with Hazel and Billie, and Bjorn from R&F was hanging out with True Colours so it was good to see him again.

Kam told me both bands were staying at mine, 11 in total, thankfully TC were headed straight to the Antwerp show because FP had 9 people just for them! I guess 5 shows, you would just bring your mates along! And they sure did :)
They actually only stayed for a few hours, most of them stayed up and got showers/ hung out which was fun, they taught me about college basketball, (which im still not convinced about, there is just too much going on!) And again I proved cups of tea are the way forward! Though the singer is a coffee trader which blew my mind, he showed me youtube vids of him shouting at the stock exchange, nuts!

Then they left at like 4am, which put my sleeping pattern to shit for the rest of the week, but they were super nice which is always a bonus of having a band stay!

Ps, liena joined me, forgot she loved both bands, she was so siked, im pretty sure she would have moshed if she was that way inclined, thankfully she's not. So we just had a sing along in the back instead!
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Polar Bear Club #1

So after I got home from Boro I headed straight to Liena and Niall's for a good cuppa tea and to see one Stanley Richard Somerville, who is currently driving Polar Bear Club, which is always a treat! Tyler who manages Broadway Calls was also hanging out with them for a few days so it was good to catch up on whats going on with them :)

So they played in Manchester on the Monday night with Shook Ones and Title Fight, they all play Cockpit this coming Tuesday too so you'll be hearing more about them aha, here a pic of me, Jane and Benny P half asleep on the way home from the show....
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The morning after the night before.

So ive decided i'm going to try my best to recall the past three weeks and update you in small bursts, so get ready!

I guess ill start with Boro then shall I! So got a lift up there with Carrie and Ben, who were randomly and super convieniently visiting family for the weekend, so had a good catch up which included finding out Ben's going to be AGM of Jamie Olivers new Italian opening in Leeds in April!
Did a quick car swap and headed to asda with Lauren for cheery lambrini and relentless supplies, ensue sugar rush!

Headed to a bar and then onto the Empire, who knew you could provide for an entire citys worth of people in one multi storey destination hey! The place was rammed, especially Henrys cheesy pop room which was INCREDIBLE with him playing all the hits, Gina G and backstreet boys included! Just like been 15 again, would do again. Infact will do again soon!

In the morning Lauren and Henry took me for some serious carvery goodness before doing another quick car swap and heading back home.

Heres a pic of a massive bruise Lauren got when we somehow ended up stood in the middle of two dooshbags that started going at it for no apparent reason! (Actually it was just one guy wanting to start shit, he picked on the wrong funny looking indie kid though and got his face smashed in! Oh sweet justice! Still, highly innapropriate when im trying to make shapes on the dancefloor!)
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I have so much to catch you up on!

But for now here's Gunner giving us jager shots pre chrimbo do!
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IM NOT TECHNOLOGY

Vickaaaaay! Sorry i haven't updated in a while, the last week has been alot of work work work, going to hull to see kids in glass houses and lost prophets last second, work work, superbowl party at santiagos, work, BOOKING MY FLIGHTS TO SEE YOU!!! And did i mention ive been working alot!

Anyway that was last week, and this one has begun with a trip to boro via asda to grab some cherry lambrini to get the party started! Trouble updates to follow!

Oh ps, lauren says she cant skype with you because she doesnt understand skpye because she 'is not technology', yep, defo arrived in boro!

Ppss, sorry my grammer is terrible, usually id correct it, but im in a taxi on the way to a pub and im in a hurry!
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We're The Man...

So today Kelly and I are down in the dumps because Tara got TWO jobs yesterday and tonight she has a boy coming to Sneaky Dee's with us to hang out with her, and Kelly and I have nothing but each other, so we're going to sit in our pyjamas and watch She's The Man whilst demolishing a box of Chips Ahoy. It's bad times Helen, bad times! :(

In good news though we found the Wal-Mart and I celebrated by buying a huge box of Pocky for a dollar, mac 'n' cheese and some heart-shaped/Valentine's Day paraphernalia to decorate my room with when I get my apartment, and also the rather sexual eye mask (a real necessity in a hostel...trust me!) as questionably/tiredly modelled by yours truly in the picture above! Like I said...sexual!

Eagerly/hungrily awaiting your arrival!

Oh and if I get the apartment that I've applied for...the view outside my front door is hilarious! I'll get a photo tonight because we're heading up that way to Sneaky's but I won't spoil the surprise. It's worth it trust me! :)
xxx

Barking Mad...

You'll be pleased to hear that I'm still pissing myself at my own jokes...

Kelly (reading from Seventeen magazine): There's a boy here who says that before a date he sprays Axe (Lynx) on his armpits, chest, crotch and bum. Why would you want to spray Axe on your bum?
Me: Maybe he was going on a date with a dog. He was going on a date to Battersea Dog's Home, to pick up some bitches. *I start laughing for ten minutes while everyone just looks at me, appalled*

Canuck wait to see ewe!

B-Squared xxx

Parties, 'Partments and 'Pun Deli's...

Hi Woolfest!

I'm going to carry on from my previous post that had to be cut short because I ran out of time! Gah! I need to be so much more 'on' this thing but well, you know how it is, the streets are always a-calling!

So I got up to Tuesday? Which is when we found Toronto's equivalent of Magnolia's - Jave Hut! Oh my gawddddd yes! We went for breakfast, which is served all day and it's just as well because as per usual I didn't get my arse in gear til gone midday. When we finally got there I had the Stuffed French Toast, which was filled with cheese and ham and came with homefries and salad! Rarrrgghgfkdf gmfgdgmm IN MY FACE THANKS! While we were eating I got a call for another job interview too - woop! :) I spent the rest of the day giving myself a break from job hunting in light of my latest success and went exploring again. That night we cooked in the hostel for the first time (tomato pasta, not even any cheese either mind) and while we were sat at the table we made another friend - a lovely girl called Jo who is 27 from Manchester and awesome! :) We were also sat at the table with an Irish man who claimed to have met the Dalai Lama and to have cycled across Australia or something. He had a few stories to tell but how many of them were factual is another kettle of fishfingers. We invited Jo to come to the cinema with us that night (because Tuesday nights at the Scotiabank theatre are free popcorn and drinks!) and went to see Up In The Air which has a heart-wrenching twist at the end! You'd like it! Mind you, what you wouldn't like is Canadian popcorn - they don't have sweet popcorn Woolly! Can you be-leaf these people?! They put syrup on their bacon and now they put cheese and jalapeno sauce on their popcorn! I just don't know what to think sometimes Helen!

Next day I had my first interview, at Aldo, so I spent all day in the hostel doing a bit of prepping and watching Dexter. I think the interview went well, I keep being told that I'm very 'enthusiastic' (read: giddy idiot) but I hated my life after the interview because I left my folder of resumes in the shop and had to go back for it...what a spanner :( I went and met Kelly for dinner afterwards because Tara had ditched us to go on a date (which she vehemently denied was a date...then later admitted that it 'turned into one' because he kept trying to hold her hand! Hahahahaah) and we went to a tapas place where I had the most amazing seafood pasta of my life! Some of the seafood in it was questionable but there was loads of mussels and it didn't make me want to throw up either. It also came with a generous side serving of sleaze because our waiter kept commenting on Kelly's perfume and telling us to 'come back real soon' hahahahah...oh the joys!

Thursday I had another interview! Yay! This time it was at Bay, this big designer department store but it's unusual because I would have to act as a businesswoman of sorts if I got the job there - the staff all have business cards, and create client profiles for their regular customers, and have to call them if something comes into the store that we think our customers would like and we get paid in direct relation to what we sell! It sounds like it would be way more interesting than the average retail job anyway so I'm intrigued by it. To cheer myself up after my interview I went to go and try to perv on my boyfriend again but he wasn't there, he's such a tease Helen, I don't know why he treats me like this. It's almost like I don't exist to him. Dejected, I took a walk up Yonge Street to find the Dollarama store and a grocery store that Tara had told me she'd found. Dollarama, well it's just bloody amazing! There's so much cute Valentine's Day stuff, I want it all, maybe when I finally get my place :) I also needed things like face wipes and shower gel, and since I couldn't find any face wipes in Shoppers (the big health and beauty/home store that's everywhere here, bit like Boots and Wilkos together?) for under 10 bucks a packet you can imagine how siked I was to find HANNAH MONTANA branded face wipes by Olay for two dollars! Oh and a shower gel to match! :) Hahahaha yes, now I smell like Miley Cyrus! Went to Sneaky's that night for poutine, nachos and beer with Kelly, Tara, Jo and a Dutch girl called Anna who told me she likes girls so I spent a good ten minutes telling her why she'd fancy Laura hahahaha. She didn't like Tegan and Sara though, so she's not a winner! In Sneaky's Tara ordered a cocktail from the bartender and his facial expression was as though she'd just asked for a dose of the AIDS, I decided to test him by also going over and ordering a cocktail and I got the same pleasant reaction, nice. I tipped him two bucks for his shitty Cosmo (because they didn't have mojitos and I asked him what his favourite cocktail was to make...mostly to wind him up further) but I should have thrown it at his head with my fist still attached. Still love Sneaky's though :) some guys from Liverpool who are also in the hostel came and sat with us and told us they could get us into a club for free, drunkenly we agreed to it but we really should have saved ourselves the trouble as we had to walk for 10mins in the baltic conditions (me in heels, Kelly with no coat) to get to this club called Strangelove where the doorman wouldn't let us in for ages because we were on the guestlist but he told us the club was full (it was empty), then when we got in there the music was dreadful vocal house music - my favourite song being one with some really deep and insightful lyrics - the word 'woo' over and over and over again - and ridiculous orange skinned frat boys and about three girls other than us, oh but the real clincher was when we went to the bar to get a drink and I got charged six bucks for a red bull. Eff that club!!!

Friday I went out into Scarborough (pronounced Scar-bur-OH!) to visit Anna and Andy, two girls who are friends with Steffen and Brad and are absolutely brilliant! They picked me up from the station (I had to get the subway and of course, got lost so turned up an hour late :(...but while I was lost I stumbled upon a cafe called 'Pun Deli'! Hahaha I need to go back and find it! I wonder if their food is all named after bands hahahaha) and we went to get Teriyaki for dinner, which is a takeout Asian cuisine place but it was tasty! We discussed the merits of ice tea versus real tea (I know you'll appreciate this) and I spotted my first Canadian Wal-Mart and then drove to Andy's where I almost died at the sight of all her Forever 21 dresses and leopard print bedroom ahhaaha. I curled my short hair for the first time, had to be convinced that I didn't look like a judge and then we went to Andy's workmates' condo, which almost made me sick it was so fancy - it had a big marble fountain in the lobby for God's sake! They had got so much alcohol in including a huge bottle of Jager! Jager behaviour did ensue, especially downstairs at the bowling alley where I started throwing too many balls down the lane at once and eventually the pins stopped resetting themselves and we had to make a swift exit!...Whoops! Upstairs we were playing a drinking game called 'Cops and Robbers' which was ingeniously simple, even I could pay attention to it, then we all started bouncing on Andy's friends' bed and at some point we realised we were way too drunk and had to go to another party still, which was in a bar and do I hell remember being there!...well you can take the girl out of Sheffield! :)

Saturday morning Andy took us to a little Vietnamese/Thai restaurant for hangover food! Best idea EVER? I had these delicious peanut chicken wrap things that you had to wrap up yourself but the wraps were so thin and sticky they looked like stuffed condoms hahaha! So good though! I also had a bubble tea which was a kind of mango flavoured iced tea with tapioca balls in the bottom that you suck up through a massive straw! It was damn tasty but a lot of effort to drink with the balls being in the way...story of my life Helen. Then it was a swift exit to put me back on the subway so I could go to my apartment viewing appointment! And yes it was a great success - $600 a month (including utilities), really nice, simple, clean and warm apartment, three nice student housemates (I met one of them and he was really sweet, his boyfriend was half English so he said he watches loads of English TV, his favourite right now being Secret Diary of A Call Girl hahahaha), big room with a big closet and lots of floor space to set up beds for my visitors :p, nice large clean kitchen and here's the clincher - it's literally two minutes away from Sneaky Dee's! It's so good! Look at it on Google Earth - 99 Bellevue Avenue. Yes, Bellevue! It's like it was meant to be!

I know $600 sounds like a lot to us, but I asked a few people and they all told me that it's a great price for that area because it's close enough to the very centre of downtown to still be walkable, plus I'll finally have my excuse to buy a bike...yey! There's also a big garden to the front of the property and there were loads of Chopper and Lowrider bikes chained up to the iron fence...only fair I should join in! I chatted to the boy whose room I would be taking for about an hour and he gave me the impression that I was the only person that had come to view the room that he had liked, and when I got home he'd already emailed his landlord saying that he wanted to put me forward as a candidate! Here you have to apply for an apartment, you can't just say that you want it like back home so fingers crossed. I'm actually viewing another apartment tonight which is cheaper, but the area's not so good, we'll see though! The subway is great here, as is the streetcar system, but it's just expensive - a single journey is a flat rate of 3 bucks no matter where you're travelling to so unless you're travelling a long way, it's a pain in the ass, so not having to take the subway home is a big deal to me. I dunno, I just need to accept that here there's no such thing as Flowers Towers! :(

Oh by the way you'd be super proud of me for going to the cinema so much since I've been here - last night was my third time! The Scotiabank theatre runs showings of old movies for really cheap so last night we went to see The Silence Of The Lambs for five dollars, and I was so nervous the whole way through that I demolished a massive box of Milk Duds! I'm still trying to find anything to rival The Clique though...but as soon as I do, you'll know!

And since you whinged about me not posting enough pics... I tried my best to upload some Helen, I really did, but the internet is so bad here that I just didn't have a chance today! It's all those rude Euros downstairs clogging up the wireless with their porn, probably. Sacre Bleu!!!

Miss Ewe!

Bredders x

P.s. I told Andy and Anna why I'm 'Vicky Breadcake'...I don't think they got it. Nobody does...nobody who wasn't in the car that night anyway!

Running on Empty

So the last couple of days have consisted of staying up til 4am waiting for Ben Saker and the lovely Breaking Point boys to arrive at mine after playing London, road trips to Manchester with Pag and Robin for the show and then sleepovers with Rise and Fall and Trapped Under Ice at my dads, whilst Breaking Point stayed at my mums! Ha.

Highlights include:
-Saker having way too much fun with my mums new doors having no locks on them!
-Reasons Pag will never get a girl
-Will Smith can do no wrong and fresh prince marathons.
-Proving Americans missed a trick by not getting involved with the greatness of a cup of tea.

All in all, a pretty good couple of days, you know how I love new faces, and got to see some oldies too, reminising about Flowers Towers and the good old days :)

So here's some pics....
R&F and TUI Group pic.
Andy and Pedro's morning routine!
Pag and Robin looking their best!

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