Hey, bada boom, bada bing

Well, today was "graduation day". I am officially qualified to teach english as a second language. I finished my course today and I couldn't be happier. Actually I have made some interesting friends in my class and we will be keeping in touch. It would be interesting to compare their adventures to my own as we will all be going on them around the same time.

So now I can really start actively looking for work. Oxford Seminars (the company I took the course with) actually has a placement service. I'm gonna be taking advantage of that as I think it'll be best for me. They do all the work and all I have to do is get my shit together and start packing. I can't believe how quickly this week has gone by and how much I have learned. I'm just about 2 steps away from being on that flight to China. I truly hope that I don't end up having any conflicts with a contract I want to take and the renn fest.

I want to leave in September, either in the 3rd or 4th week. That way it will give me some time to prepare after the renn fest is over and will also give me some time to say bye bye to as many people as possible. I really don't want to leave in a rush and then regret not seeing people that are important to me before I go. And yes, that includes all of you that take the time to read this blog.

Anyway, I'm gonna go look for some work in town tomorrow with the hopes of starting next week. Also I have to call Oxford Seminars and let them know that I will take advantage of the placement service and get them starting to look for a job at a Chinese school.

To be completely honest for a second. This adventure, while I look forward to it, is completely unlike myself (for those of you who know me very well, you would agree). While I am sometimes wacky, funny, silly and completely insane, when it comes to daily life, I'm usually safe. Not that going to China is terribly unsafe, but it puts me in a position where I am outside of the box of safety that I have become used to. I'm not sure if you know what I mean but if you do, I guess you get it. Not to bring anyone down but I guess what I'm trying to say is I need something to wake me from this slumber. I don't want to turn around in 10, 20 or 50 years and have a "life" that I regret. I guess I want to have a type of rush (not related to sex) that I can look back on and say that I did enjoy.

Anyway, enough of that now. I finished my course. I'm almost there. I'm excited and I can't wait to tell you all about my adventures. So keep reading, the blog so far is the tip of the iceberg and things are only going to get better. Tisha will actually be in China soon.

TTFN :-)

A "hard" choice

Well, I was trying to put this off for as long as possible but I do think I need to get a job. As some of you may know I used to work at Wendy's. there is a location near where I live now, I think I'll apply. The good thing about this is I can do a job with very little responsibility or expectations and since I used to be a manager at another location I should have no trouble getting hired. It's a good thing I didn't burn my bridge there. The only thing is I'll have to make it clear to them that I don't want to do much and I'd want to work only 3 hours during the lunch rush. I know it sound demanding but like I said I want very little responsibility. So, I'll apply within the next few days and then look to start around July 4th. As usual I'll let you know, plus I have to because working in fast food is a gold mine for finding strange characters.
Peace out!

Just to let you know

Ok, I heard that some people were having a hard time leaving comments, so I've fixed the blog for that problem. Now you can leave a comment under anonymous and not have to be a member or anything. So, please feel free to leave any comments, I'm always glad to read them from the people that do.
Also, once I complete my class and get the internet working on my laptop, my next project is to get pics on the blog so that I can change up this monotony.
Speaking of my class, this guy Brian is a real loser. Yesterday, the instructor made a chart on the board and asked everyone to write their name in a square. Everyone obliged without a problem. Brian had some trouble with this. He couldn't even write his own name and then when he did he was constantly making corrections. Oh to be a fly on the wall of his classroom! I feel sorry for both parties. However, we (the class) will get an idea of his "teaching style" once he does his practicum. The practicum (which has the word 'cum' in it, so naturally I like saying it) is basically the final exam for this course. It is where you create a lesson plan on your own from start to finish with all materials etc and then you act as the teacher and carry out that lesson. There are some other details but I won't bore you, but basically that is your one practice shot because after that, you'll be doing the same thing, however, in front of a real class.
So now I'm half way through, I have an idea on what I want to do for my practicum and I have an idea on where in China I want to go. I have definitely decided to teach at a public school as I will be immersed in the culture more and I would be exposed to different types of people. A couple of my classmates have agreed to keep in touch even after we are placed, so things are beginning to gel for me.
In the mean time I have to think about getting a part time job or something where I can make some money with little effort or responsibility. I know there aren't much possibilities of that except for fast food or something but I still haven't decided either way. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.
TTFN

Flip the script

Ok, so I had my first 2 classes this weekend and there is a lot of info that is thrown at you. My instructor is a really nice girl but unfortunately I have a few weird freaks in my class. I'm not really going to go in too much detail about the course itself because it mostly focuses on being a teacher and how to create lesson plans and how to keep control of the class and engaging the students and all that. So instead, I'll focus on some of the freaks that are in my class.
Saturday:
The first guy I met is actually I good guy but seems to be very spontaneous. He looks like a young Leo Dicaprio. On the morning of the first day, we chat for a bit and he then asks me what the course entails. This was info I knew for a long time because I went to the info session and I went to the website that listed the course details. He then says to me that he just signed up for the class the day before because he thought it would be interesting but he really didn't know what he was getting into. Ok.
Then there is this guy named Brian. He's actually from Arizona and is staying at the UofT campus for the duration of the course. All I gotta say for him is "the lights are on but nobody's home. Either they ain't home or they've been drugged and are all knocked out." First of all he looks like the stereotypical nerd, so I have no clue how he's going to control a class. Another classmate and I think he might have A.D.D. And when he sits at his desk he takes his shoes off and sits with his legs crossed and then walks around the class with no shoes on. But the thing that killed me the most about him was the fact that he got lost. Not once but twice. The first time he was standing about 15 feet away from the classroom door and said that he needed my help finding the class 'cause he has no clue where it is. Ok. Then we were coming back from lunch and we're all walking towards the class door and he walks right by it as we're going in. I don't get that. If you think you're going to get lost, why don't you remember the room number so that you could just look for it next time? Then there is another guy that looks to be about 18 or 19 who always looks like he's sleeping and/or has no interest in what's going on in the class. Why is he there then? Why did he pay almost $800 to be there? I suppose we'll never know.
Sunday:
Now Sunday was a little rough for me because I went to bed at about 2:30 am and then woke up at 7am. I was at the year end party that my theatre group has and I was really enjoying myself. The way I figured, it was my last time to have fun with that group of theatre friends so I really wanted to enjoy it. And boy did I ever, but that's a tale for a different forum. Anyway, I wouldn't say I was hung over because I didn't feel sick or anything and I didn't have a headache, but let's just say I wasn't at my best and I was very tired. I didn't really absorb much and I just dragged through the day. But I did make it through and Brian got lost again. Also 2 girls had dropped out of the class. Reason? They themselves have not mastered the english language so I have no fucking clue how they expect to teach it! On Sunday these 2 chicks are there but during conversations they are quiet and when they do speak it's in broken english. What made them think that they could teach english? We'll never know but why would you spend almost $800 and be ready to part with it so easily. In their defense the course is very intense and you have to have a command of all parts of the english language and be able to speak it clearly. Then all the technicalities of english are important including all the tenses and grammar, especially grammar. So no big surprise that they dropped out. They still need to be on the other end of the ESL experience.
But this blog is long enough...... I just have to say that I originally figured that I would go to nursing school after I got back and get my bachelor of science in nursing. And nursing is the kind of thing that can be done anywhere in the world but I have to admit, the sciences and biology and all that were never my fave subjects. Plus dead bodies irk me, and that was always a fear of mine. that I may have had to just deal with. But teaching is just as flexible (in terms of it can be done anywhere). It is also something I like doing (hence the reason for taking this adventure) and it is something I can see myself doing in the future. Also there are more advantages in teaching, ie. no shift work, weekends and summers off etc. My instructor even told me that doing this counts as experience and teachers college will credit you for it. So I'm flipping my life script again but it's all a positive thing baby. So when I come back from China, I'll either be going to school for nursing or teaching.
So that's it for now. As usual, I will keep you "posted".
TTFN.

All I can say is WOW!

I was on a few websites this morning looking at available jobs in China. There are alot of amazing opportunities. I think the best thing for me is to do is go with an agency that does all the work of finding me a job with my requested requirements and then contacting me once the deal is done. There is a major agency that is currently available and I've been to their site and have seen what they offer and the schools that they work with. Even if I take this option I can still look for work via other websites on my own.
This is starting to get very exciting. I can't wait to start. Wish me luck!

The wait is almost over

Well, one of 2 days that I've been waiting for is almost hear. Tomorrow is the day I start my teaching class. The second day I'm waiting for is the day I actually go to China. Heck this is the whole reason why I started this blog. I started it so that my friends can have a way to keep an eye on me, see what I'm doing and be able to contact me when I go to China. While the blog started for fun it really is a communication link for when I actually leave the country. Hence the name of the site "Tisha in China". Everything that I do in this upcoming week and the months to follow will center around my efforts to get to China.
Anyway, tomorrow is the first day of class. I'm nervous and excited. I've never really been on a university campus. Well, actually only twice. Once was at Ryerson to visit a friend and the second and more recent time is when I went to York for the info session that Oxford Seminars held (Oxford Seminars is the company that I'm taking the course with). Like I said before I have to go down to the UofT campus to take this particular class. That in itself is a journey and a hike, especially from Brampton.
Now, once I complete this course, I can actively start looking for a contract. This is where things get specific. So I apply for work based on the contracts I see, all of which is done online of course. Then they get back to me if they are interested in my resume (the course also has a resume class to help you create one that looks good). If they are interested, they'll do a phone interview and from there they'll let you know whether or not you are hired. I'm looking for a contract that will start in September. I'm pretty confident that I'll get a job as the demand in China is very high. Oxford Seminars has a money back guarantee that if you don't get a job after sending 20 applications, they'll give you your money back for teh course. They said that they haven't had to do that yet. So I'm almost as good as gone. I gotta say I will miss alot but the reward of the experience will be amazing.
Well I'm off to school tomorrow, I'll let you know how my first day went.

I hope you're happy

So the "heat wave" is over and now we got rain.

There art thou happy?

Now instead of walking around with the shorts and the tank top, we gotta wear jeans and bring a jacket.

There art thou happy?

We can no longer throw caution to the wind and just be.

There art thou happy?

We can no longer go sunbathing in the backyard.

There art thou happy?

I miss the heat wave and I hope we got more summer coming. As a matter of fact there better be more summer coming because I ain't stayin' indoors on account of the rain. This is summer. Sun is expected and always appreciated, by me atleast. Once again, my blog.....my rant.
Cheers :-)

It's now Kitty Love not Puppy Love

Well the day I start my class for teaching ESL is fast approaching. My first day is on Saturday. The only downside is that I have to go downtown to the UofT campus. I haven't fully decided how I'm gonna get there but I do think it will involve the TTC. Well I gotta say, it's starting to sink in a bit that I'm going to China eventually, but I think the reality of it all will hit me like a ton of bricks once I actually take on a contract and have more firm plans of where I'm going and what I'll be doing.....exactly.
Now you are probably wondering about the title of this blog and what it means precisely. Well here it is.....
as some of you are aware or if you have been reading my blogs you'd know that I adopted another cat which I named Thorn. Anyway, things at home with my now 2 cats have been hectic for both. He's just getting used to his surroundings and is being told "no" a lot since there are a lot of things he does that a wrong in this household. Then for Willow, she's having a hard time marking her territory and making her presence known. So as a result there has been a lot of fighting between the two. His need for acceptance and her need to be dominant. Anyway, the fighting has slowed down a bit and there have been moments where she seems to be playfully teasing him. I think he's completely enamored with her but she's playing hard to get. Moving right along, there were times when I caught them both on my bed or they were both lying in the same area but they weren't in real close proximity to each other. That is until yesterday.
Among other furniture, there is a single chair in the basement. Willow got up on it first and then she attempted to jump to the coffee table by slowly reaching for it. I scolded her and she recoiled to a sitting then laying down position on the chair. Now Thorn was witness to this and after a few minutes he made his way to the same chair Willow was sitting in. For some reason she didn't hiss, growl or even look up at him as he made his "move". He then moved to the other half of the chair and inched his way to the coffee table as if to jump up on it. I scolded him and he recoiled into a sitting then laying down position on the chair right next to the cat that has been fighting him. Now the two of them are sitting on the chair and he looks happy and she's trying to ignore him but at the same time isn't upset. I just looked at him and thought "you little stinker. You did that on purpose. Just so that you could sit next to her."
The way I see it, he did the kitty equivalent of a girl and a guy sitting in the movie theatre and him pretending to yawn with a big arm stretch so he could get his arm around you. So he's completely in love with her and will do anything to be around her or get her attention. I have now realized that cats have a certain flair for the dance of love. Guys, take note.
TTFN

Why?

Why exactly are people complaining about the "heat wave"? I can understand if you are not used to it or don't like hot weather but I'm talking about the people who complain in the winter that it's too cold. Some of these people even leave the country to go to the Caribbean or even Cuba or Mexico to get that heat they have been begging for. Then when summer hits, and we get a "heat wave"...... you all complain. I just don't get it.

This is the same heat you had to pay money for and now you are getting it for free.

This is the same heat you begged old man winter to bring for you because you couldn't stand one more day of frost-bitten toes.

This is the same heat you were wishing for when you were shoveling the driveway with the knee deep snow.

It's not like you didn't know that summer was coming. The seasons have a way of changing. Heck summer comes once a year, every year. You knew it was going to be hot. When they said it was going to be a cold winter, did you not prepare by buying those longjohns or that new scarf? Then prepare for summer. Buy your skimpy outfits, short pants and tank tops. Listen, if you are going to complain about the winter, then don't complain when it gets hot. The only way I will accept a heat realted complaint is if it is very humid. Humidity is a bitch and does affect breating and people whith asthma etc. When it is very humid you tend to lose water faster and it can affect you overall health very rapidly. But there are ways to deals with this....

DRINK LOTS OF WATER OR GATORADE/POWERADE.

So in conclusion, don't complain when it's hot, you'll regret it when that winter comes along. Here comes the sun....now enjoy it.
For me it can never get hot enough, but then again, I grew up in a tropical country.

What's the deal?

I know some of you are thinking that my site needs to be sparked up with some pics. Either from my vacation or just in general. Well to tell you the truth, I'm not very good at operating the system that is in charge of that, so I'm having some difficulty getting pics in my blogs, but as soon as I figure it out I'll be able to enlighten and entertain with some pics. So keep looking and I'll have them as soon as I can manage.
Anyway, some of you have heard me complain about this before but can someone please explain to me the purpose (besides money) behind Batman Begins? Did we not cover the reason why Batman does what he does and what haunts him and all that shit in the last 4 Batmans? We have covered as much depth as we possibly can in a man who dresses like a bat to fight crime. People I implore you....there is nowhere else to go with this. Now this is just my personal opinion (and seeing as it's my blog my opinion is the only one that will count in this particular forum) but Michael Keaton was the best Batman. Say what you will about him but Michael Keaton on his own has this mysterious sort of dark side as it is (look at some of his movie choices) and he's not hard on the eyes. So for me he was convincing as both Batman and Bruce Wayne. Val Kilmer......? I don't know. He is a hottie but was trying to hard when wrestling with Bruce Wayne's inner demons. Now George Clooney, another hot hot man but even he agrees that he shouldn't have done the movie. So that sums up that. Now for Batman Begins, because Michael Keaton is Batman for me, I have a hard time standing behind someone else in the role as it is. In addition to that Alfred is played by someone else. I can't handle 2 changes. Then film makers seem to forget that in the first Batman, while he had alot of technology at his disposal it actually got a better as time went on. How are you going to tell me that he had better technology way back when but didn't have it when he faced off with the Joker. I just don't get that.
Now on the other side of the spectrum.......I have seen Revenge of the Sith. Now I have to admit. I have been waiting more that half my life to see this movie. I mean, it's THE MOVIE. Everyone knew that Anakin Skywalker was seduced by the dark side and became Darth Vader, but noone had ever seen what prompted and eventually enforced him to make that decision. I gotta say I enjoyed it and I can't wait for it to come out on DVD. Once it does I will own it all and the circle will be complete. (LOL)
Anyway, if anyone gets to see Batman Begins, let me know what happened. Also, if you haven't seen Revenge of the Sith, I do recommend you do. Provided ofcourse if you are a Star Wars fan. Which I know many of us are.
Till next time

Ok, here it is

Ok, so I went to New Orleans and I gotta tell ya, I'm thinking of moving. If you can get out there I strongly suggest it. The people are so incredibly friendly. I now know the difference. Canadians are polite. IE, when you approach, the please and thank you's are there. Also the "have a nice day" when you're leaving etc but people in New Orleans are genuinely nice. You can say hi to anyone and you don't have to approach or face someone for them to say hi. Plus the thing that gets me the most and may cause me to move is the fact that New Orleans is such a sexy town. I was able to go to a regular gift shop/convenience store and bought a lighter that has the same look, feel and shape of a penis and vibrates when opened. Let's not forget Mardi Gras. Girls flash for beads. HELLO?! I've been do that for nothing. So I'm gonna have to go back for Mardi Gras so that I can have a great time with everyone else.
Anyway, the friendly atmosphere of the people really rubs off. I found myself saying hi to strangers as well. The first few days of my trip wasn't great because it was overcast and rainy but the plus to this rain is that it was hot out still. Much unlike this Canada rain that seems to still be frozen even in the middle of summer. We found out half way through the rain that we were actually in the beginning of the rainy/hurricane/tornado season. (yes, I know big downside to living there). However, people have been living there for years and are very happy with the lives that they live.
Now, on the days that were sunny, it was great. The sky was perfect blue and that sun just felt amazing. That's what I want to live in. Anyway, I haven't made a real decision one way or the other and I still have my plans to go to China, but I can't see why New Orleans won't be a great place to live. I know that visiting some place is very different than living there but from what I've seen, I don't see why not.
Now on my way to New Orleans we made a stop in Tennessee. Mostly to sleep because we couldn't drive the whole way but also to see a friend of mine. I didn't really know much about Tennessee but on our way back we decided to stay an additional night. During the day we went to a local attraction. This place called Ruby falls. We didn't know what to expect but when we got there, we were completely amazed. Basically it is this waterfall that's located something like 400 feet under ground of this mountain. It is a truly awesome sight. On the way to the waterfall there are all these rock formations and stalactites and stalagmites. Words can't fully describe the sights down there, if you want you can go to the website (www.rubyfalls.com) and get an idea of the natural beauties that are located on this earth and deep below ground. Anyway, I can't see anyone going to Tennessee just for that but if you are in the area, I do recommend that you stop by.
Anyway, I'm still having problems loading pics onto this site but as soon as I work it out, I'll be able to post vacation pics, including pics from Tennessee's ruby falls, plus my New Orleans pics, including my trip to the bayou.
Meanwhile......back at the ranch, I finally got my smart serve certificate with my certificate number, so now I'm in business. I'm gonna try to get a job or 2 with my instructor. If that pans out I'll provide the details. Also, a week from this Saturday I'll be starting my teaching course. I've received my class locations etc and am getting excited about getting started. Once I complete the course, I can start looking for a contract. Once I secure a contract, my plans can firm up (ha ha I said firm) any way, after that I'll have a better idea on my next step and where I'll be staying and all that good info. I'm so excited about this upcoming adventure. Before it seemed like so long ago, now the time is almost here. I hope you are enjoying my blogs and I look forward to your comments. Anyway TTFN