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the secret of being a bore is to tell everything
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| long entry |
[11:53am, Sat 26th February 2011] |
it's an interesting, mixed up time for me at the moment. my sparkly hilarious Yorkshire grandma passed away a couple of days after having a stroke, and i flew back to the uk to be with family that same week. i'm really glad i came back; it feels like the right thing to have done, and of course, it's always great to visit the UK even if under sad circumstances.
i've been here for a week, and can't really tell you much about what i've done: keep up with work, catch up with a few friends, help my dad sort some things out at my grandma's house, take photos, get my bike fixed and ride it, find a lovely gym in a converted barn a couple of miles away, sleep..... and eat. a lot of eating.
anyway, it is nice to be back. the funeral is next wednesday, and that will be very sad. she was 93, and judging from a letter i found that had been written to her by a friend, she was fed up of being old. fair enough; we were very happy to have her around, but things were getting more difficult for her. i'm glad i saw her in october, partly because it was recently, partly because she was on fine form, and partly because the last time i'd seen her before that i spent the entire time unable to eat and throwing up in the toilet - not the best memory i would have wanted her to have of me. So all things considered, that's good - especially as I normally only visit the UK every 12-18 months. I would be very sad if I hadn't seen her for over a year.
it was strangely lovely to be in her house, sorting through some of her piles of paperwork. i've had her voice (memory) chattering away in my head since it all happened, which is lovely and quite hilarious (she was quite a character). piles of paper everywhere, always seeming to contain used envelopes (being stored to write lists on - a wartime/postwar habit from when paper was hard to come by); multiple shopping lists containing several types of fruit, a cake or something else sweet, and a miscellaneous item such as a mirror or tissues; letters from friends and relatives, postcards from me, and photos both old and recent. it seems she wrote and received a lot of letters, and cherished them all- my dad said she also used to re-read them. he would go and visit her with food for the week and find she had rearranged all the postcards i'd sent her because she liked to look at different ones. for the last nine years, since i left the uk, i have sent her a postcard everytime i went to a new place, so she had a few to choose from. my sister will be really happy to know that she had written to her often, and the letters had all been kept too. the feeling i got was that she dearly loved her family and friends, and it made her day whenever she received a letter. she also had good memories of her childhood, teaching career, husbands (my grandfather died when my dad was in his 20s and she then met and married Ken after a while between).
She also had a bit of an obsession with Cadbury's Roses. I found four empty tins, and my dad found a half-full one.
perhaps unsurprisingly, this is also prompting some new perspectives on my own life - in a good way, and definitely very interesting. it's like a shift somehow, realising that i'm no longer 'young' but i'm in my 30s, and perhaps what i want now is quite different. i still don't know whether i want children, i never have known. but while i don't have a lot in the way of control over whether it does or doesn't happen, it's something i'm pondering - because if i do find i want them, and with no guarantee that i'll meet someone i want to spend the rest of my life with (i know it happens all the time, i'm not being pessimistic, but you just never know!), then i might need to put some effort into finding out what other options are out there and what i would be able to, or prepared to, do. it sounds heavy, but it doesn't feel like i'm under pressure, so it is simply a new and fascinating thing to think about.
I am loving the cold weather (it's not THAT cold, but cold for someone who lives in Sydney), and seeing family and friends, and I also really miss Australia. It's such a wonderful country. Oddly, I've also got the travel bug in a way that I haven't felt for a few years (but I can't really do much about that, except save up!!).
and in good news, my vitriolic email-writing neighbour (oh my, she wrote awful emails) has sold her flat and we are getting a new neighbour who hopefully gets on a little better with the rest of the block. One neighbour has already emailed to say that 'the champagne is flowing'. Vitriolic neighbour will be pleased too - she sold her one bedroom place for more than my 2 bedroom place was valued at only 18 months ago: i.e. a stupid amount of money!
there's more i'd like to write, but i think that will do for now.... i hope things are going well with you :) x
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| I'm not a photographer, but I like ideas |
[11:31pm, Sat 15th January 2011] |
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Hello, how are you?
I think I mentioned before that I was taking a photo of 'something good' for each day last year, didn't I? Well.... I was blown away by the number of people who told me they loved the idea, I think something about it must have captured their imagination (it sure as hell wasn't my photos ;) ) This year a few people started doing it too (a photo for each day) and I loved seeing their pictures come up on my status feed (this was all done on facebook) but realised nobody could see each other's as they didn't know each other... So I started a blog that people are now posting to. I've recently discovered it's not an original idea, apparently there are loads of similar projects out there too, so I think that means I was onto something. Anyway if you're interested to join in please please do, the more the merrier; we have a really eclectic mix so far and I'm loving watching it go. it's called Life Moves Pretty Fast, after the Ferris Bueller quote... Take care, I hope life is treating you well :) x Posted via LiveJournal.app.
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| 31 days of october spent not working |
[1:20pm, Sun 7th November 2010] |
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it's november, but feels like the start of a new year. i'm convinced it's autumn, not spring - one of the northern hemisphere things i have instilled in me and nothing will change, despite the fact it's becoming noticeably warmer, and the days are getting longer.
september was a busy month, with me announcing that i wanted to leave my project because it was making me miserable, looking for a new job, and getting ready for a three-week trip overseas in addition to the Very Heavy Workload that had driven me to realise i needed to quit in the first place.
it was actually my ideal job in most ways, but there was just far too much for one person to do, and i'm at an age now where i'm no longer prepared to sacrifice absolutely everything for my job. i need to have the headspace for a life outside of work - i could have made the time, as the hours weren't mental, but outside work i was either organising things over email or just plain exhausted and had no emotional capacity for anything other than doing nothing around the house, or the occasional catch up with friends.
this is totally different to being in my 20s where i didn't mind as much. but i'm in my early 30s, and i don't want to one day stop, look back on my life, and wonder where it went. i'd also quite like a partner at some point - i'm not in any great hurry for that, but it feels like i should at least sort my life out so that i at least have the potential to meet cool people, and do more of the things that make me feel happy and balanced. most of my friends are partnered up and loads have kids - i'm not entirely sure where my life's taking me but i want my options to be open... i don't have that huge drive to have my own children that a lot of other people have - well, not yet anyway. i do like kids though, so would like them in my life, they just don't have to be mine - adopted, friends' kids, step kids, etc - all fine.....
with work, in the end i was lucky enough to score another position at the same place (i have a really great workplace, it was just the project i was on that was the problem), and took all my leave at once, meaning i was then able to take the whole of october off - VERY EXCITING. i'm thankful i was able to leave my last project on good terms, and with my reputation intact (i've never quit a job before, let alone because the workload was too much - i could've looked like a slacker or something), and in fact with the most amazing exit interview/performance review. *huge sigh of relief*
i then hopped onto a plane bound for overseas, and managed to see: dubai--> my parents' in hampshire --> my grandma in kent --> clydach, monmouthshire --> cardiff --> edinburgh --> bristol --> my parents' in hampshire --> fareham --> montreuil -sur-mer in north france --> my parents' again --> clapham, london --> brixton, london --> bangkok --> mae sot, thailand --> sukhothai --> home
i spent 1-2 days in each place, except for 3 nights in mae sot. it felt surprisingly un-stressful travelling about so much, i guess because most of the days were spent seeing friends/family in the uk, rather than legging it around sightseeing, so it was at a much slower pace, and for the most part, familiar.....
i really loved thailand, and i think i will start saving to go back and see more of the place. i've been to a few places on holiday now but i think it's south east asia that has the strongest pull.
i've been back for a week, and my jetlag has been utterly awful - i haven't felt tired, i've just felt very, very wrong. but happy. i look healthier, and am finding i have time to care more about things, like my appearance, and other people. i hadn't realised quite how much i'd shut down. right now it feels like a new start, similar to the start of new years - full of promise. this i like. oh, and it was my birthday on wednesday - which always helps :)
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[11:20pm, Fri 1st October 2010] |
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Hey, just to let you know.... Having just got a Mac after years on a pc, I really appreciate how good semagic is as a blogging programme - the Mac options are nowhere near as good! If you don't have it, you should :) ... Unless you've got an apple mac. The clients for that seem fine, but meh. And the lj app is great - but doesn't let you edit previous entries! So if you're a big self- editor like me, this may frustrate you... I do really like it otherwise though..... 'Night all, I've an alarm set for 2:45am for a flight at 6am: nice.... Have a lovely weekend! Posted via LiveJournal.app.
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| A travel preparation list, of sorts |
[11:07pm, Fri 1st October 2010] |
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Passports: two, one brand spanking new Aussie passport and the old nine year old faithful, much loved and battered UK passport. Pass. Ability to be a tidy traveller who doesn't wreck passports: no, i'm no good at that tidy, girly stuff. Fail. New backpack on its very first trip: exciting! Even managed to shut it (given that it's quite a lot smaller than my last backpack, this was A. Large. Challenge.). Pass! Packed: yes, just. Pass. Unwise plan to run 10km race the week after I get back: Fail. It entails me carting half my running gear across the planet and the idea that i'll train for it while on holiday when in reality my knee has started being crap again and I really like beer. (still kinda fun though, the idea of exploring places while running - new sights). Any clues about what to do when i land in Dubai: none whatsoever. I know close to nothing about the place, although I will dig out an email of recommendations from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1) sunnytea- fantastic! But still, reminders of huge ignorance: enormous fail. How about having somewhere to stay in Dubai at least: yes, this evening i booked the first place I found that would let me do so so close to arrival. (i land tomorrow). No clue as to whether it's in a good location, although I did read that it's near to the ski slope. Pass. Number of ski-friendly items of clothing in my luggage: none. Damn, no adventures for me in that department then. Fail. Exploring: yesyesyesyes can't wait!!!! Result to be determined. Posted via LiveJournal.app.
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| drinking tea on saturday morning |
[12:00pm, Sat 25th September 2010] |
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peaceful but sore |
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 drinking tea inside with sunshine streaming in through the windows - what a fabulous start to a weekend....
hooray for 2009 being over!
The good things in 2009 included seriously great people, interesting jobs, love, my own place, and i saw some wonderful places in countries i'd never been to before. and my parents came out for my first family christmas since 2001! the only thing i think i'm sad about leaving behind in 2009 is jen. it's the one year anniversary of her death on the 4th october. i will be jetlagged and in transit, being scooped up off a long flight by my fabulous and terribly english parents. (i can say that now i've been in australia this long.)
and then...
this year so far has mostly been a complete blur. that's why i'm so glad to have my photo of the day project. everyone should do it. i dare you! take a photo of something good every day and (apart from the days when you're like 'bloody hell all i've done today is get up, work, go home and sleep and NOW i have to think of a photo?') it's fun and makes you feel good. DO IT. i also started the year with the plan to run a marathon - well.... ahem. i've partly succeeded - i've done a half marathon, the city to surf and my fastest 9km yet, in 43 min 25 seconds - i've not been that good at anything since i left high school! (big fish, small pond, etc etc.) woohoo. I realised i really love running & i've also got dodgy knees. not to worry, eh?
hooray for 2010!
i'm so much happier.... i've quit my job, which felt like something that needed to happen, and i leave next weekend for a month overseas (OVERWHELMED BY THE AMOUNT OF PLANNING THIS IS TAKING), and starting on a new project (work) at the same place on the 1st november. with briony! (briony is brilliant). i'm definitely feeling positive about the future. no mortgage defaulting for me just yet. hurrah.
no idea yet what i'm doing for christmas..... but it's coming up fast. in the meantime here are some of my 'good things in 2010' pictures.... because what's the point of blogging without pictures? (and if anyone knows how to fix my page from that horrible white when it used to be blue, i'd be very grateful). Have a wonderful weekend, won't you? x
 i still hate the word blog. and i can't believe i've had this thing since 2004. i checked.
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| Testing testing |
[9:58pm, Fri 24th September 2010] |
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Helloooooo!!!!!!! *cheery wave*
I'm testing out livejournal on my overpriced under-battery-lifed iPhone to see if I like it..... I've just remembered how much fun writing crap on the internet is and more importantly how much I like having a record of things..... I'm still going with my photo project which is hard enough but I miss writing about every day stuff... Can't believe it's heading towards the end of 2010... Feels like so much has happened and yet totally hasn't... I'm at my friend sam's house drinking wine, amazed it's the weekend already...Mmmmmmmm anyway I will have a think about a proper update. Eek. Hope you're well xx Posted via LiveJournal.app.
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| it's been a while |
[7:22pm, Sun 2nd May 2010] |
dear lj
i am sorry i have been so bad at staying in touch with you lately. i miss taking the time to actually write something longer than 136 characters or whatever it is that facebook provides. i just feel i have very little to say- 2010 has been much kinder than 2009 but i still haven't felt motivated enough to write. harsh, i know. but it's better to tell the truth, isn't it?
i have, however, started a blog to 'keep me honest' with my running progress (i.e. to keep myself on track for the sydney marathon which i plan to run in september). so i haven't abandoned you completely, dear livejournal, so i hope you don't miss me too much. i'm just over here.
love
emma xxx
PS i have a photo project, it's on picasaweb.google.com/nicemongoose. i'm posting a photo of something 'good' for each day in 2010. i am up to number 120 or so. i'm not a photographer, but i like ideas.... my idea was to try to take a photo each day of something that i like... to try and notice more of what's around me, and to inspire me to try new things and go to new places. It's really fun.
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| in which the author secures ownership of two small rodents. |
[9:17pm, Mon 8th June 2009] |
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mood |
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you can't polish a turd, said liz |
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 woohooooo
much goodness in mood today.
ok i did just have what turned out to be a rather large white russian (my hand slipped when pouring the vodka). anyway...
i have two new pets: tilly and rosie the guinea pigs. they are small, not very clever, cute, very nervous, and *really* like eating. in fact tilly disappeared into the garden today and couldn't be found for about an hour. that was quite scary. not least because i was going to have to tell my boss (who i got them from) that i'd lost one of them, one week into having them. that could've been a bit awkward....
i'm also completely obsessed with shootenanny by the eels. this cd really does make me happy. his music says to me: life is shit, but beautiful. that warms the cockles, doesn't it?
i think i have a new flatmate, he moves in in a couple of weeks... roberto from peru. he is cheery, sociable and laid back, it seems. that's exactly what i was looking for in a flatmate. and somewhat more of a relief than if i'd said yes to the other south/central american guy i showed the room to, who didn't say anything til it came to leaving when he said he was really worried about people kicking in the front door (hello?) - i actually think he had a coke/meth problem as he was walking and talking very fast, plus looked a bit unwell. and was moving house from maroubra in a very great hurry.
hopefully it works out well, anyway...
actually... searching for a flatmate is nothing like i thought it would be. i had loads of calls, and about a third cancelled, often 10 minutes after they were meant to be here (and i was waiting around for them)... others say they want the room for sure but then don't call back, i've offered it to a few people who say they'll take it then text the next day to say they don't want it after all, etc etc... basically: people are really crap. so much more being f-cked around than i had expected. i think it's a bad time to be renting out a room in bondi... people don't want to live near the beach in winter.... personally i don't really get why you wouldn't... it's not like it isn't a cool place to go when it's cold, now, is it? hmmmf. (though... i barely go down there myself...but then - *i* like the suburb too, not just the beach). it's got too many four-wheel drive-in-the-city types, but apart from that it's tops.
i've also decided to teach myself to cook. the chicken, harissa, sweet potato and baby spinach was wonderful. thanks, donna hay.
thinking... having a peruvian flatmate and two peruvian foodstuffs of the guinea pig variety currently being kept as pets in the back garden... hmmm, i hope that wasn't an oversight...
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| take a long, slow, deep breath... it was never going to be easy... |
[9:50pm, Sun 17th May 2009] |
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mood |
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small girl sethe |
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the questions i have to ask:
- Can anyone recommend any blogs? I'd like to increase the number of cool people/places I know about on the interweb... people on your 'friends' lists, perhaps, or otherwise regularly read...
- Who was that woman who sang 'sweet guy' onstage with paul kelly, who just completely blew everyone away with the most incredible voice I think I have ever heard? And I do mean ever. I need to find out who she is... and see her again. ♥
Here are some pictures from Havana - they're pretty much all Durand's, he's got a good eye hey? and one of him in front of a tank used in the revolution... oh, and one of me being a brat, because y'know - while I might be a ranty old bag at the moment, I still think I'm hilarious after a couple of wines...
    
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[1:55pm, Sat 9th May 2009] |
new things: 
- food processor i didn't really need. yeah, thanks, gin and online auctions.
- framed picture by my sister. it looks great. thanks, framer man.
- plans for fun things and hangover following one or two wines with aditi and sophie at the beauchamp hotel in darlinghurst. fun night. seriously, hooray for excellent people.
- flatmate search. [know anyone in sydney who needs a room, get in touch!]. amie leaves at the end of this month.
- the word 'cank'. used in polite company to denote someone who is a cross between the c word and the w word.
- look. i've banned myself from wearing the same tshirts over and over and over again.
- long stripey socks. yes, i look like i'm trying to recreate my 'alternative' teenage years, but i'm liking it, alright?
- climbing buddy. simon and i have started going climbing once a week. it is the awesomeness.
- getting $900 from the Rudd government to spend on ANYTHING I LIKE. i've spent it already, twice. that's how much i care about keeping the Australian economy afloat.
- flat. well, the same flat, but my mortgage application has now gone in and should settle in about 6 weeks... my ex agreed to let me buy him out which was a good result.
- jane's addiction ticket for july. okkervil river cd. yeah yeah yeahs cd. metronomy cd. bertie blackman cd.
- resolve to try and keep this thing more up dated. I way prefer it to facebook which is where I spend most of my time
stalking keeping up with how everyone's doing. Shame more cool people don't blog...
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[10:31pm, Sat 18th April 2009] |
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mood |
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never mind the bollocks |
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well i have been back in sydney for a whole four days now and, given how stupendously NOT looking forward to coming back i was, i have to say it's really not too bad. simon (friend) was wonderful and picked me up from the airport at 6am (his team, liverpool, was in the process of losing a game, hence being up) and took me for tea at a cafe round the corner, listened to me pour, rant and sob my heart out about the shiteness of the things in my life i could use losing, and then took the day off.... ...so we trotted off to sydney's north shore where i swear i had the weirdest headf*ck of my life when i stepped onto the sand in my bare feet. after two weeks in the uk i had completely acclimatised to home - and my head hadn't caught up with the fact i was no longer in london... result: 29 degree heat, 4 hours' sleep in 36 hours (i ended up being awake for around 48 hours - rock n roll), hot sand, surfers, yellow and red lifesaver boards, and the sea plus being completely unaccustomed to the australian accents around me meant i felt like i was in some crazy dream. or like i'd just stepped into an episode of home and away.   sort of appropriate, then, because we were on palm beach, where they actually film home and away. yeah, weird. since then it's been an interesting (read: both great and bollocks) time. a bit of a new beginning, and a new 'me' (i have the new wardrobe to match - love h&m).... wish me luck! i hope it's a big, shiny, fabulous one. i'll update about my trip too - i'm still going through the photos... i hope you are doing well x |
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[9:12pm, Sat 11th April 2009] |
I don't know who put the sticker there, but I love that they did.
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[8:21pm, Tue 10th March 2009] |
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| watching the sunrise over the clouds from a mountain in Brazil |
[5:58am, Sun 8th March 2009] |
I'm in Brazil at the moment, it's my last night in Rio before flying to Mexico tomorrow - three weeks have gone fast but I have visited lots of amazing places...
I will update with pictures and stories when I have had a chance to sort through the photos - but for now I just wanted to say hi, so...
'HELLO!'
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| Also sparing a thought for those affected by the fires in Victoria... |
[8:04pm, Tue 10th February 2009] |
Oh wow, I am taking two months' leave from Saturday and visiting lots of cool places...
I'm recovering well, thanks for the concern - ongoing dental work over the rest of my life but I'm happy I look normal and my front teeth look completely fine now (even if I can't use them yet! the molars work, what else can I possibly need?! I can't tell you how important texture is after a few weeks of soup and mushy stuff...). I'm surprised to be doing as well as I am; I've been having a very blah week this week (oh wait it's only Tuesday) but apart from that, since Christmas I've been doing much better than I would have ever expected, given my rather sub par end to 2008. I'm excited to see friends, new places, and all the good things that go with travelling... and to wear my superlovely new dress to two weddings! Actually it feels like the start of the new year for me at the moment: I'm on the edge of something new (preferably not just bankrupcy, but something fun and exciting and.. er... you know, cool stuff).
On a less futuristic topic, there's something really lovely and luxurious about new sheets and candlelight, isn't there? I've just made my bedroom all sanctuary-like with these things this evening... think I'll spend the rest of the evening curled up listening to the new Franz Ferdinand cd (is it good?) or reading one of my excellent birthday pile of new books... Or maybe I'll just drink all my housemate's beer, laugh at my own jokes and be generally obnoxious. Ummmmm... ok maybe not that one.
Hope 2009 has started well for you.
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[1:11pm, Thu 4th December 2008] |
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i was on my way to work on monday when my bag got caught in the wheel of my bike. i flew over the handlebars -i think, at least, the bike didn't seem to be there any more- and landed on my face. luckily there were no cars behind me to run me over. my first trip in an ambulance! the medical staff were all very lovely, and it's lucky i was wearing a helmet, given that i landed forehead first. as it is i have smashed teeth, a damaged face and lots of horrible grazes, am on painkillers and am stiff and sore. was very shaken for the first couple of days but that seems to be subsiding, thankfully. it's quite upsetting to have damaged my teeth- i was quite attached to them actually, especially after years of orthodontics as a teenager - but i guess that's better than damaging my brain or eyesight or something.
i can only drink through a straw or off a spoon, no chewing, and i can't talk properly. i think this will get old quite soon....
but it could be an awful lot worse in so many different ways. i'm very happy to have come off lightly, given the potential for brain damage, broken bones, major scarring, etc.
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| schmaps |
[5:08pm, Sat 13th September 2008] |
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I got an email a few weeks ago saying that one of my pictures on Flickr had been shortlisted for use on a Vancouver city guide website/programme called Schmaps.... and I've just received an email saying that's going to be used! That's quite exciting, isn't it?
I don't really understand it but I think it's an iphone thing... anyway the picture was taken on cypress mountain when i was there with amie in dec 2005.
it's a beautiful day in sydney, and the cat is sitting on the windowsill meowing at the birds as though she can follow the conversation. i hope you're having an ace weekend.
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| why is it called the falls festival? |
[1:11pm, Sat 6th September 2008] |
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mood |
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hoping to win things from fbi radio |
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 I'm going to the Falls Festival, which will be my first camping festival since Reading 2000!! It's in a place called Lorne, which is on the Great Ocean Road, surrounded by national park I think, in Victoria. Exciting! Here's the line-up - tell me if you think it's any good and who I should check out! And... who I should avoid... I already have some ideas but would love any thoughts esp if on a band I've never heard of!! Any advice on Falls also appreciated... I've heard they are really strict on banning people from bringing alcohol in, and there's a bus that goes into town and to the beach, but that's all I know. Perhaps you haven't been before either... Franz Ferdinand The Hives Eli `Paperboy` Reed The Cat Empire The Kooks The Grates Gomez Tegan and Sara Fleet Foxes Faker SoKo Donavon Frankenreiter Jamie Lidell Augie March Ash Grunwald TZU The Drones Mystery Jets Architecture in Helsinki Atmosphere feat. Brother Ali The Dodos A-Trak Wolf and Cub Liam Finn The Cribs Late Of The Pier Rocket Science British India TinPan Orange
It's chucking it down with rain outside, but I don't really feel like spending today at home either... I'm feeling wildly uninspired by today. Perhaps another cup of tea will improve things...
PS sorry about the ads making the page look shit... they just appeared there....
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| Kakadu-du-du, push pineapple shake the tree |
[8:03pm, Thu 28th August 2008] |
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helloooooo
i just got back from a few days in the top end, i.e. Darwin and surrounds - visiting Dr Clare, and it was a lovely 32 degrees with a breeze, just gorgeous weather... we went to Litchfield National Park including some off road adventures to find the lost city (it took so long to find that we questioned whether it had, in face, genuinely been lost) and some water holes plus a 1920s/30s tin homestead, some fab night markets, the very large, beautiful and really very breathtaking Kakadu National Park, the museum (worth visiting for at least two reasons - 1) the very large scary stuffed crocodile 'sweetheart' and 2- some really good art)... and a few other places too. We also met a snake that had crawled into a chicken's cage, eaten the chicken, and was then too fat to crawl out again. Very NT experience I'd have to guess!
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| Lemongrass and ginger tea is excellent |
[8:31pm, Fri 25th July 2008] |
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mood |
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snot-laden; deafened by cold |
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That last post was crap, sorry I didn't realise it wasn't going to do a proper linky picture thing. Anyway, I'm doing Dry July, which means I'm not drinking alcohol for the whole month and it raises money for charity (the local hospital). This means I'm now the most boring person on the planet*. I'm sure it would be harder if I wasn't stuck down with a shitty, stonking cold that threatens to morph into potentially fatal manflu at any moment. I am feeling rough as a badger this week, and look forward to rejoining the world of normal hearing, speech and brainfog-free-ness.
I've started my new job (same place but new position) and it's great. I also have a new housemate, Amie (who I went to the USA and Canada with back in December 2005), and her cat, Scat, who is very cute and who miaows for attention and purrs when she gets it a LOT. I'm also still pleased to have such new items in the house as curtains, a dining table, picture rails and plug sockets.
I've discovered mountain biking (of the easy variety) is GREAT and I want to do more of it. I've visited the world's largest collection of babies (all of whom were most cute) and their excellent parents as well. I've got (cheap) tickets to see the Rocky Horror Show (free), tickets to the Red Paintings and tickets to the New Pornographers. I saw a talk by Bill Miller, one of the gods of drug and alcohol (see: motivational interviewing) and he was excellent. I've vistited Hope Street, where Timmy works, and learned about what they do in Woolloomoolloo, Surry Hills and Darlinghurst (suburbs of Sydney with lots of homeless people).
I'm loving Mother Tongue, a book about the English language, by Bill Bryson.
I hope you are having a ball!
PS Did I rave about how brilliant Lars and The Real Girl is? You really, really, really should see it.
*Or, slight less obnoxious on a Friday night at approximately 11pm
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| How great are my workmates?!! |
[6:06pm, Thu 12th June 2008] |
They bought me tickets to see this as my leaving present!!!
(apparently it's really good, which is EVEN BETTER)
I'm really quite overwhelmed, it was a total surprise, yay! And they wrote lovely things in my card too
in other news I went interviewing today, aren't people great? my jaw hurts now from talking so much.
I am also going to visit Timmy (insanetimbo) at Hope Street (hopestreet.org.au, urban orientation) on 29th June which will be fab as a) I haven't seen him in ages and b) it will be interesting
Books: I'm also chowing through the books (if that's a word to describe reading, which I suspect it's not)... so pretty much everyone's read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (if you haven't then you should)... but i just read the sequel, A Spot of Bother, and *oh my* that was fab. Totally recommend it. I definitely do NOT recommend The Magus by John Fowles, and do recommend reading Brick Lane by Monica Ali.
Music: have been totally crap with new music - see last post about flights for reasons behind no live shows and no new cds - but am liking Plans by Deathcab for Cutie and still love the Panics, they are getting quite big here now which is good.
Films: I just joined Palace cinemas which was a grand idea, and two of the sweetest and funniest films I've ever seen were this year- Juno and especially Lars and the Real Girl (the latter of which I will hire again on DVD eventually)
Art: I can't believe the controversy about Bill Henson - ok ok there are points on both sides (i.e. whether his photographs are art or irresponsible 'cause they have naked teenagers in them and stuff) - but seriously, he's been an acclaimed and very famous photographer for, um, years - so how come it's all front page scandal NOW??!
Babies: friends are still getting pregnant and having babies, which is lovely. If only I wasn't being expected to pop one out myself!! In good news it did take until I was 30 to cop it at least!
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| Where will you be in February/March next year? |
[7:13pm, Tue 3rd June 2008] |
I wanted to draw a funky little map to show you where I'm going to but it's proving way too hard: but next year this is happening --->
14th February:
I leave Sydney for Niseko (near Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan) for a week of skiing (Adam will already be over there with a bunch of other crazy ski-lovers and it will be fun. I am hoping for someone who's not a pro-skiier-narrowly-missed-out-on-the-olympics level to hang out with too if possible!!)
21st February:
Adam and I leave Japan for Cancun for Lucie and James' wedding *yay*. We get there about two weeks early so head off somewhere around Mexico and/or other Central American countries. Would like Cuba but think it will be too expensive to get there. Maybe see Armando!
12th March:
Lucie and James get married on the beach and much celebrating will occur. On the beach!!!
24th March:
Adam returns to Australia. I catch interesting connections via Fort Worth (Texas) and New York (do I know anyone in either of these places I should make a detour to see??) to London en route to Helen and Nick's wedding
28th March:
Helen and Nick get married in Caerphilly Castle. A castle!!! (this is still exciting despite being from a country stacked with the things)
15th April (I think- Easter Monday anyway)
I return to Sydney
So: that's about one week in Japan, about four weeks in Mexico and about two weeks in the UK (don't test me on the maths)... I'm hoping to catch up with as many people as possible & I'm pleased it's so far in advance because I will have something to look forward to for absolutely ages.
South America will have to wait another few years!!! (That was my last plan). Central America looks great....
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