So 2008 is upon us and, on this first day of the year when so many people resolve to make changes in their lives, my little blog is moving home. I've set up a page on a travelling website where I can write about where I've been and upload photos for you all to see, so to keep up with my trip and the first four months of this year in my life, you need to head on over to http://www.sarahbarbour.co.uk. There's even a Subscribe button if you want to receive an email whenever I post something, and you can still make comments or send me private messages. I'll be updating from the end of January!
Before I sign out, there's just time for a quick look back over 2007. At the beginning of the year I set myself five goals to work towards, and I'm very proud to say that I have successfully completed four of those five aims. Each month, £200 of my salary has moved straight across to my travelling savings account and I haven't even been tempted to dip into it for things that weren't directly needed for my trip. It's been hard living without the money, but having the willpower to do so has been easy. Going away has been my big motivation over the past twelve months and I can't believe it's actually this month that I'll finally get on the plane!
In addition to making savings (goal one), I've also increased my earning potential (goal two) and I think that the email my Director sent round our office praising me when I submitted my resignation letter is ample evidence of that. When I get back I'm looking forward to applying for better paid jobs and all the skills I've gained this year will certainly help. I've also completed goal three and passed my driving test! It was stressful and scary but I did it first time and I'm so proud.
Goal four, to reach my target weight, just hasn't happened this year. I've been to the gym regularly but haven't been able to eat healthily on a regular, consistent basis. This is the one area of my life that I haven't been able to motivate myself for this year and it's the one thing I'm annoyed about when I look back over what's been otherwise a thoroughly brilliant year. I'm just hoping that I'll eat less when I'm travelling and that this will kickstart me into doing better when I return.
And finally, there was goal five - to find a boyfriend. Back in January I knew that I couldn't control this but that I could make more of an effort, yet throughout the first half of this year I spectacularly failed to do this because I realised that I just didn't want to. I was completely happy and contented with my life and began making plans for one person and not two, and so, as so often happens, a fantastic man just fell into my life when I'd finally decided that I didn't really want one. Luckily I didn't turn the opportunity down (thanks to some people who talked to me at important points - you know who you are!) and now have a gorgeous and quite genuinely lovely boyfriend who started this year by telling me over the chimes of Big Ben that he loved me. I can't quite believe my luck.
I started 2007 thinking that this would be my waiting year - saving, planning and dreaming for everything that was to come. Instead, I had a completely fantastic twelve months of doing, experiencing and living which I'll always look back on as an amazing year. I'm going into 2008 preparing for the trip of a lifetime followed by a return to a new job, new house and new life with someone really special. I can't wait!!!
I may come back to this little blog when I'm back in the country. As I've had less to worry about I seem to have had less to write about - I'm sure it's always the case that contentment is less interesting than angst, and that happy people don't need to seek comfort from spilling their feelings to the world. So I may be back, I may not...but for now, I'll just say that I'll see you on the other side!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
If Carlsberg made team meetings
Yesterday afternoon we had the best team meeting ever. If anyone's ever been to a better meeting than this I'd love to know about it! The agenda unfolded as follows.
Item 1 - Chocolate. We've recently bought a web enquiry service from a specialist provider and to thank us for spending thousands of pounds they sent us a large box of Thorntons chocs. Item 1 was therefore an instruction to consume a lot of chocolate during the meeting.
Item 2 - Admissions. Something actually relevant to our work.
Item 3 - Shopping. Our Director, struck down by the Christmas spirit, told us all that we could take a half day off at any time of our choosing during the next two weeks to go Christmas shopping. This will not come out of our annual leave. We were mightily excited by this news.
Item 4 - Food. When we moved into our current building there was a strict edict that none of the teams in the building were to bring in hot food. This was a year and a half ago and most offices are happily flouting the rule. We have now been told that we can do the same. Cue much celebrating and purchasing of cup-a-soup and baked potatoes. We really know how to live it up!
Item 5 - Marketing. Another actually relevant discussion.
Item 6 - Winter Ball. We all went round and told everyone what we're wearing to the staff ball. Then it was 4.55 so we went home. Best meeting ever!
So, as a result of item 3 above, I'm leaving work at 12.15 tomorrow to get ready for our all-staff ball. This means that instead of running in the door, throwing my dress on and running back out again in 15 minutes flat, I have five wonderful hours to paint nails, straighten hair, drink wine and pour myself into my dress. Getting ready to go out is one of my favourite activities and I'm really looking forward to putting on my new dress and jewellery, getting merry with my colleagues and having a bit of a dance. Plus MGL is coming with me which means I get a lift home, my colleagues get to meet him and I get to ogle him in a suit which is another of my favourite activities! All in all it should be a fab evening and I can't wait. I am however trying to avoid thinking about the morning after - at 6am on Thursday I may not be a very pretty sight!
Item 1 - Chocolate. We've recently bought a web enquiry service from a specialist provider and to thank us for spending thousands of pounds they sent us a large box of Thorntons chocs. Item 1 was therefore an instruction to consume a lot of chocolate during the meeting.
Item 2 - Admissions. Something actually relevant to our work.
Item 3 - Shopping. Our Director, struck down by the Christmas spirit, told us all that we could take a half day off at any time of our choosing during the next two weeks to go Christmas shopping. This will not come out of our annual leave. We were mightily excited by this news.
Item 4 - Food. When we moved into our current building there was a strict edict that none of the teams in the building were to bring in hot food. This was a year and a half ago and most offices are happily flouting the rule. We have now been told that we can do the same. Cue much celebrating and purchasing of cup-a-soup and baked potatoes. We really know how to live it up!
Item 5 - Marketing. Another actually relevant discussion.
Item 6 - Winter Ball. We all went round and told everyone what we're wearing to the staff ball. Then it was 4.55 so we went home. Best meeting ever!
So, as a result of item 3 above, I'm leaving work at 12.15 tomorrow to get ready for our all-staff ball. This means that instead of running in the door, throwing my dress on and running back out again in 15 minutes flat, I have five wonderful hours to paint nails, straighten hair, drink wine and pour myself into my dress. Getting ready to go out is one of my favourite activities and I'm really looking forward to putting on my new dress and jewellery, getting merry with my colleagues and having a bit of a dance. Plus MGL is coming with me which means I get a lift home, my colleagues get to meet him and I get to ogle him in a suit which is another of my favourite activities! All in all it should be a fab evening and I can't wait. I am however trying to avoid thinking about the morning after - at 6am on Thursday I may not be a very pretty sight!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
One Sunday in November
When I was single, I really didn't like Sundays.
There. I said it. When I was single, I was determined to prove to myself that every aspect of life could be just as fun and rewarding as it was when I had a boyfriend and, with a few small exceptions, I was successful. However, on a regular basis I found myself feeling lonely and depressed on Sundays, and sometimes I couldn't even blame it on a hangover. It's easy to entertain yourself on a Friday night (wine to celebrate the end of the week, good tv, looking forward to two days of freedom) and on Saturday (productivity during the day, food shopping, cleaning etc and then more wine and cheesy telly) but by Sunday after a weekend alone the shine has gone from life ever so slightly and it's hard to think of interesting ways to pass the time. At one particularly low point I even found myself looking forward to going back to work because it would mean having people to talk to, which I hope is something that will never be repeated!
So yes, despite my usual optimism, I just didn't like Sundays, and at about 4pm on another day of sitting at home, I would find myself wishing for a boyfriend - someone to share my lazy day with and transform it into time off to be treasured rather than frittered away. And today, I got my wish. MGL and I woke up at 9.30 and spent an hour and a half in bed, savouring the lack of alarm calls and reasons to get up. When we did finally drag ourselves out of the horizontal, we ambled to Starbucks for a coffee and a chat, and then strolled round town looking at market stalls, popping into shops and laughing at little children in Jephson Gardens. After we'd had enough of the cold we walked back to his for chips, dips and a cheesy film, before heading to Raquel and Mark's for a lovely dinner to round off the day. It was a long, lazy day filled with nothing to do - and I loved every second of it.
Single life was fantastic and I know that I can live a full life on my own. But at the moment, being in a couple is pretty damn special. Big happy grins all round.
There. I said it. When I was single, I was determined to prove to myself that every aspect of life could be just as fun and rewarding as it was when I had a boyfriend and, with a few small exceptions, I was successful. However, on a regular basis I found myself feeling lonely and depressed on Sundays, and sometimes I couldn't even blame it on a hangover. It's easy to entertain yourself on a Friday night (wine to celebrate the end of the week, good tv, looking forward to two days of freedom) and on Saturday (productivity during the day, food shopping, cleaning etc and then more wine and cheesy telly) but by Sunday after a weekend alone the shine has gone from life ever so slightly and it's hard to think of interesting ways to pass the time. At one particularly low point I even found myself looking forward to going back to work because it would mean having people to talk to, which I hope is something that will never be repeated!
So yes, despite my usual optimism, I just didn't like Sundays, and at about 4pm on another day of sitting at home, I would find myself wishing for a boyfriend - someone to share my lazy day with and transform it into time off to be treasured rather than frittered away. And today, I got my wish. MGL and I woke up at 9.30 and spent an hour and a half in bed, savouring the lack of alarm calls and reasons to get up. When we did finally drag ourselves out of the horizontal, we ambled to Starbucks for a coffee and a chat, and then strolled round town looking at market stalls, popping into shops and laughing at little children in Jephson Gardens. After we'd had enough of the cold we walked back to his for chips, dips and a cheesy film, before heading to Raquel and Mark's for a lovely dinner to round off the day. It was a long, lazy day filled with nothing to do - and I loved every second of it.
Single life was fantastic and I know that I can live a full life on my own. But at the moment, being in a couple is pretty damn special. Big happy grins all round.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
The price is right
I have always been good at shopping. I am the person who finds amazing bargains in the sales, or who takes an item to the till to discover that it's suddenly half price and no-one's got round to re-labelling it yet. I am also the person who blags a 20% discount for some barely visible makeup marks on the inside of a shirt. However, yesterday I impressed even myself with my ability to bag a bargain.
It all started a couple of weeks ago when I went into Debenhams to browse through their Christmas party dresses. I was immediately confronted with a wealth of beautiful creations, all of which I could have bought instantly given the money and all of which cost £100. Depressed by my inability to afford them, I trudged back to work and lamented being poor. Ever since then I've been doing sums in my head to work out how I could afford to treat myself in time for the work Winter Ball, and had just about become convinced that with a 20% off voucher from a colleague and a bit of extra saving here and there, I might be able to not entirely bankrupt myself.
Yesterday, having returned to work feeling bunged up, snuffly and not at all disposed to go outside for the rest of the day, a colleague casually mentioned in passing that Debenhams were holding a Christmas Spectacular with at least 20% off all clothes. Ignoring the pleas from my pounding head that I remain seated and stay calm, I legged it into town at lunchtime, grabbed the five most beautiful dresses and had a trying on spree which left me hot, sweaty and feeling a lot more ill. The effort was worth it however, as I narrowed down my choices to two. Now I only needed to find these two in different sizes to work out which fitted best, and I was away.
Returning to the shop at 5pm, I settled upon my favourite dress: a gorgeous black number covered in huge purple circles, with quite an unusual shape and netting in the skirt (I love netting in the skirt!). Proceeding to the till in the knowledge that I was buying a £100 item for £80 which I still couldn't really afford, I had the first of my sudden brainwaves. "I know", I thought, "I have a Nectar card in my purse with lots of unused points on". At the till, a second brainwave hit. I could open a store card for this one purchase only, and save 10%! Discounts galore later, I left the shop with a beautiful £100 dress that had cost me precisely £60.21. Bargain.
And, to top it off, I've saved £15 already this week through being ill and not going out or catching any buses for three days. Total amount I have to find from December's budget for my £100 dress? £45. Plus, as a new storecard holder, I have just finished the rather wonderful mini box of Lily O'Briens chocolates that I received free with my purchase. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why girls love shopping.
Now I just need to decide what jewellery to wear with it...
It all started a couple of weeks ago when I went into Debenhams to browse through their Christmas party dresses. I was immediately confronted with a wealth of beautiful creations, all of which I could have bought instantly given the money and all of which cost £100. Depressed by my inability to afford them, I trudged back to work and lamented being poor. Ever since then I've been doing sums in my head to work out how I could afford to treat myself in time for the work Winter Ball, and had just about become convinced that with a 20% off voucher from a colleague and a bit of extra saving here and there, I might be able to not entirely bankrupt myself.
Yesterday, having returned to work feeling bunged up, snuffly and not at all disposed to go outside for the rest of the day, a colleague casually mentioned in passing that Debenhams were holding a Christmas Spectacular with at least 20% off all clothes. Ignoring the pleas from my pounding head that I remain seated and stay calm, I legged it into town at lunchtime, grabbed the five most beautiful dresses and had a trying on spree which left me hot, sweaty and feeling a lot more ill. The effort was worth it however, as I narrowed down my choices to two. Now I only needed to find these two in different sizes to work out which fitted best, and I was away.
Returning to the shop at 5pm, I settled upon my favourite dress: a gorgeous black number covered in huge purple circles, with quite an unusual shape and netting in the skirt (I love netting in the skirt!). Proceeding to the till in the knowledge that I was buying a £100 item for £80 which I still couldn't really afford, I had the first of my sudden brainwaves. "I know", I thought, "I have a Nectar card in my purse with lots of unused points on". At the till, a second brainwave hit. I could open a store card for this one purchase only, and save 10%! Discounts galore later, I left the shop with a beautiful £100 dress that had cost me precisely £60.21. Bargain.
And, to top it off, I've saved £15 already this week through being ill and not going out or catching any buses for three days. Total amount I have to find from December's budget for my £100 dress? £45. Plus, as a new storecard holder, I have just finished the rather wonderful mini box of Lily O'Briens chocolates that I received free with my purchase. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why girls love shopping.
Now I just need to decide what jewellery to wear with it...
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Things that have happened recently
I have been ill. This has caused me to miss a wedding and take two days off work. As of tomorrow I will no longer be ill but will still be snotty, coughy and disgusting.
I have finished re-reading the whole Harry Potter series. I completed the final book yesterday and the tears mixed with general snottiness and unstraightened hair were, I must assure you, an extremely attractive sight.
I have cooked a kick-arse spaghetti bolognaise.
I have had a lovely short haircut.
I have completely failed to blog.
I have been to Barcelona. I have seen the sights, walked for miles, eaten wonderful food, drunk delicious wine and had a lovely, relaxed, happy time which promised many more joyful holidays to come.
I have fallen in love.
I have finished re-reading the whole Harry Potter series. I completed the final book yesterday and the tears mixed with general snottiness and unstraightened hair were, I must assure you, an extremely attractive sight.
I have cooked a kick-arse spaghetti bolognaise.
I have had a lovely short haircut.
I have completely failed to blog.
I have been to Barcelona. I have seen the sights, walked for miles, eaten wonderful food, drunk delicious wine and had a lovely, relaxed, happy time which promised many more joyful holidays to come.
I have fallen in love.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Looking forward
So, my few weeks of madness have come to an end and I have a few days to take a breather and look forward. Two weeks ago I had a wonderful but very busy birthday, and last week I had a stressful time at work with two open days. My blogging therefore suffered under the onslaught of fun and tiredness. However, I'm now free to comment on some very happy thoughts that have been swirling round my head over the last couple of days.
Firstly - work. On Saturday I worked at my last ever open day, and now it's really starting to feel like I'm on the home straight. For the next couple of months we'll be concentrating on admissions processing, something which I enjoy and am good at, and at every meeting when we discuss future plans I'm finding that I'm no longer taking notes as we're discussing projects that I won't be there to work on. I have one more on campus event to organise, one off campus fair to attend and two Christmas parties to go to (tough job but someone's got to do it) and then I'm really out of there. It feels like a great weight is gradually being lifted, and I can see the finish line in sight. I can't wait to get there!
Secondly - holiday. For most of this year I've been so focused on getting to January and leaving my job that I've almost forgotten the reason why I'm resigning. The other day, however, I had one of those little moments of realisation when I remember that I am actually heading to the other side of the world for three months for the trip of a lifetime, and I had shivers up my spine. It's now less than three months away and I really need to start planning the last little bits and arranging my leaving parties - strangely I half thought I'd never reach this point and I can't believe it's nearly here!
Finally, and probably most importantly, my love life. Regular readers will know that I am a difficult person to please in this area. Over the last couple of years I've complained about being single and lonely yet I've whinged about all the men who have actually been on dates with me, and recently I've stressed verbally rather than in writing to several people about losing my freedom once I actually did find someone I wanted to see more than once. Now, however, after a very well timed intervention a few weeks ago by various people to stop me doing something very stupid, I am pleased to report that the complaining is over. For the moment, at least, ladies and gentlemen, I am happy. My boyfriend is definitely living up to his nickname - he does lovely things for me, he puts me first, and following a conversation a few weeks ago, I still have my free time to sit around and generally do nothing which I need having lived on my own for so long. What's more, I'm really starting to look forward to seeing him when we're apart and to daydream about things we could do together. He's always been lovely but I haven't always been sure that I wanted to be with him - but now all that's changed and I'm gradually starting to like the idea of seeing him more and more. It's rather a fabulous feeling to know that when my life gets turned upside down next year, and I come back in April to a completely new existence, MGL will be one of the continuous presences that I haven't lost. And he'll still be gorgeous.
Ain't life grand.
Firstly - work. On Saturday I worked at my last ever open day, and now it's really starting to feel like I'm on the home straight. For the next couple of months we'll be concentrating on admissions processing, something which I enjoy and am good at, and at every meeting when we discuss future plans I'm finding that I'm no longer taking notes as we're discussing projects that I won't be there to work on. I have one more on campus event to organise, one off campus fair to attend and two Christmas parties to go to (tough job but someone's got to do it) and then I'm really out of there. It feels like a great weight is gradually being lifted, and I can see the finish line in sight. I can't wait to get there!
Secondly - holiday. For most of this year I've been so focused on getting to January and leaving my job that I've almost forgotten the reason why I'm resigning. The other day, however, I had one of those little moments of realisation when I remember that I am actually heading to the other side of the world for three months for the trip of a lifetime, and I had shivers up my spine. It's now less than three months away and I really need to start planning the last little bits and arranging my leaving parties - strangely I half thought I'd never reach this point and I can't believe it's nearly here!
Finally, and probably most importantly, my love life. Regular readers will know that I am a difficult person to please in this area. Over the last couple of years I've complained about being single and lonely yet I've whinged about all the men who have actually been on dates with me, and recently I've stressed verbally rather than in writing to several people about losing my freedom once I actually did find someone I wanted to see more than once. Now, however, after a very well timed intervention a few weeks ago by various people to stop me doing something very stupid, I am pleased to report that the complaining is over. For the moment, at least, ladies and gentlemen, I am happy. My boyfriend is definitely living up to his nickname - he does lovely things for me, he puts me first, and following a conversation a few weeks ago, I still have my free time to sit around and generally do nothing which I need having lived on my own for so long. What's more, I'm really starting to look forward to seeing him when we're apart and to daydream about things we could do together. He's always been lovely but I haven't always been sure that I wanted to be with him - but now all that's changed and I'm gradually starting to like the idea of seeing him more and more. It's rather a fabulous feeling to know that when my life gets turned upside down next year, and I come back in April to a completely new existence, MGL will be one of the continuous presences that I haven't lost. And he'll still be gorgeous.
Ain't life grand.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Quick update on my life
Birthday - fabulous. Pink fizz, gorgeous food, muchos wine, fab friends, prezzies.
Day after birthday - three bagels, muchos chocolate, lovely lunchtime with MGL.
Birthday weekend at home - homemade food and drink, amazing meal out at very swanky restaurant (including brandy, limoncello and champagne cocktail!), Mahler 2 in Symphony Hall.
Work this week - immense stress. One open day today, another one on Saturday. Far too much to do and not enough time to do it in.
5pm this Saturday - my last ever open day over! Then off to MGL's parents - eek.
Normal service may be resumed when I finally stop...
Day after birthday - three bagels, muchos chocolate, lovely lunchtime with MGL.
Birthday weekend at home - homemade food and drink, amazing meal out at very swanky restaurant (including brandy, limoncello and champagne cocktail!), Mahler 2 in Symphony Hall.
Work this week - immense stress. One open day today, another one on Saturday. Far too much to do and not enough time to do it in.
5pm this Saturday - my last ever open day over! Then off to MGL's parents - eek.
Normal service may be resumed when I finally stop...
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Grinning madly and loving the world
I must apologise for not blogging much recently. I've felt that I haven't had anything interesting to say, which is odd because I usually blog about things that are of no interest to anyone, but there we go. However, I couldn't let this past weekend go by without a mention because I've had the most fantastic time!
Saturday didn't start particularly well as I had to work on an open day which entailed getting up at 6am, but when 4pm came I legged it as soon as I could back to our office and into MGL's waiting car to be whisked back home where I changed and finished packing. Then it was off to the station and onto a train to London! As soon as we pulled away from the station some yummy deli food from Sainsbury's was magicked out of a bag, and as I munched on quiche the Pimms appeared! I spent the next two hours happily quaffing from a camping mug and feeling very pleased with the world.
Once we arrived in Marylebone it was onto the tube, and after adjusting the route to take into account the Circle line closure, we arrived at Lancaster Gate for a short walk to a very nice hotel one street away from Kensington Gardens. Bags were thrown on the bed and then it was out the door and back to the station for a mad dash to Leicester Square, and during the train journey I was handed a birthday card containing two tickets to the 8.30 performance of Avenue Q! I couldn't think of a better present or anything that I'd have appreciated more.
A very brisk walk later, we arrived in our seats at the Noel Coward Theatre with five minutes to spare, and I had time to appreciate the grandeur of the theatre and the fact that we were bang in the middle of the row, six rows from the front in the stalls! Brilliant seats for a brilliant show which was hilarious, cleverly staged and performed by some really talented actors. It was MGL's first musical and only my second London show and we both really enjoyed it.
The show finished at 11 and we headed to the Tottenham Court Road for a drink and to find out the rugby score which was very exciting. After that we started walking in the direction of the station, and had such a good time chatting and seeing the sights that we carried on and ended up walking all the way back to the hotel. It was so lovely to walk in the dark through the lights and along the avenues, chatting and laughing.
This morning we headed out into a beautiful warm sunny autumn day (after brownies for breakfast!) and spent an hour walking round Kensington Gardens, kicking through the leaves. We ended up ambling down to the Diana Memorial Fountain (verdict: I have no idea how anyone could have thought it was safe for children to play in given the speed of the water over the smooth stones) and had a distant glimpse of the London Eye across the river.
We then had to check out, so we lugged our bags back to the tube and headed to South Kensington and the Natural History Museum. We finished our deli goodies and ate more brownies on the grass in front of the building, and then spent a couple of hours wandering around reliving our childhoods and overdosing on information boards. By 3pm we were completely knackered in both the brain and the feet department, so we made it back to Marylebone and collapsed onto the train where we dozed our way back to Leamington and finished the brownies. We got home at about 6pm and since then I've enjoyed giving my arms and feet a rest from all the walking with heavy bags!
I had such a wonderful time this weekend. I've been so busy this week with my brain constantly full of lists and things to do, and to put my time in someone else's hands for a change was such a release. MGL planned a fabulous birthday surprise for me and I could tell that so much thought had gone into it, from the musical soundtracks on the CD player in the car to the Pimms on the train. I feel so happy and relaxed this evening, and I can't wait for Tuesday when I turn 25 and celebrate with pink fizz, good food and ten of my lovely friends. Life at this precise moment is pretty damn good.
Saturday didn't start particularly well as I had to work on an open day which entailed getting up at 6am, but when 4pm came I legged it as soon as I could back to our office and into MGL's waiting car to be whisked back home where I changed and finished packing. Then it was off to the station and onto a train to London! As soon as we pulled away from the station some yummy deli food from Sainsbury's was magicked out of a bag, and as I munched on quiche the Pimms appeared! I spent the next two hours happily quaffing from a camping mug and feeling very pleased with the world.
Once we arrived in Marylebone it was onto the tube, and after adjusting the route to take into account the Circle line closure, we arrived at Lancaster Gate for a short walk to a very nice hotel one street away from Kensington Gardens. Bags were thrown on the bed and then it was out the door and back to the station for a mad dash to Leicester Square, and during the train journey I was handed a birthday card containing two tickets to the 8.30 performance of Avenue Q! I couldn't think of a better present or anything that I'd have appreciated more.
A very brisk walk later, we arrived in our seats at the Noel Coward Theatre with five minutes to spare, and I had time to appreciate the grandeur of the theatre and the fact that we were bang in the middle of the row, six rows from the front in the stalls! Brilliant seats for a brilliant show which was hilarious, cleverly staged and performed by some really talented actors. It was MGL's first musical and only my second London show and we both really enjoyed it.
The show finished at 11 and we headed to the Tottenham Court Road for a drink and to find out the rugby score which was very exciting. After that we started walking in the direction of the station, and had such a good time chatting and seeing the sights that we carried on and ended up walking all the way back to the hotel. It was so lovely to walk in the dark through the lights and along the avenues, chatting and laughing.
This morning we headed out into a beautiful warm sunny autumn day (after brownies for breakfast!) and spent an hour walking round Kensington Gardens, kicking through the leaves. We ended up ambling down to the Diana Memorial Fountain (verdict: I have no idea how anyone could have thought it was safe for children to play in given the speed of the water over the smooth stones) and had a distant glimpse of the London Eye across the river.
We then had to check out, so we lugged our bags back to the tube and headed to South Kensington and the Natural History Museum. We finished our deli goodies and ate more brownies on the grass in front of the building, and then spent a couple of hours wandering around reliving our childhoods and overdosing on information boards. By 3pm we were completely knackered in both the brain and the feet department, so we made it back to Marylebone and collapsed onto the train where we dozed our way back to Leamington and finished the brownies. We got home at about 6pm and since then I've enjoyed giving my arms and feet a rest from all the walking with heavy bags!
I had such a wonderful time this weekend. I've been so busy this week with my brain constantly full of lists and things to do, and to put my time in someone else's hands for a change was such a release. MGL planned a fabulous birthday surprise for me and I could tell that so much thought had gone into it, from the musical soundtracks on the CD player in the car to the Pimms on the train. I feel so happy and relaxed this evening, and I can't wait for Tuesday when I turn 25 and celebrate with pink fizz, good food and ten of my lovely friends. Life at this precise moment is pretty damn good.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Relief
So, after a rather horrible day during which I went all wobbly at my desk and had to avoid speaking to people for a bit because I thought I might cry (for highly random reasons!) I pitched up at the gym for my moment of truth. Having thought that it might be the icing on the cake of my bad day, I was really surprised and pleased to find that in the 8 months since February, during which I've been continually disappointed by my inability to eat healthily, I have in fact only put on 4 pounds and only 2 of those were of fat! This suggests to me that if I actually start eating properly and keep going to the gym as I have been all year, I can actually still lose some weight before I go away. I had a kickarse workout and walked home feeling on top of the world once again. Phew!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
The shadow of dooooooom
Today I was ambushed by one of the lovely ladies at the gym and made to agree to being weighed and measured on Monday evening. This will be an extremely depressing experience as I am the fattest I've been for two years. I believe that for the rest of this year I may have to re-grow some willpower.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Today, I have...
- Woken up with a quite frankly gorgeous man whose office is so close to my house that I could set the alarm for 8.15 which included ten minutes of waking up time (smug smug smug)
- Marvelled at the very special shapes my hair is able to form after just one night's sleep
- Read one and a half books - ok so they were only part of my great Harry Potter re-read mission but it still counts
- Cried twice (yes, it was over Harry Potter...and yes, it was the same bits that made me cry the first time...but in my defence, he had won the Quidditch cup! This is big stuff here people!)
- Played a bit of Mozart while watching people on the street outside
- Smothered some interestingly sparkly cream on my foot in an attempt to de-mingify it - who knew prescription medicine could be so pretty?!
- Eaten two extremely tasty sandwiches
- Craved Green and Black's Maya Gold but resisted buying any (hurrah!)
- Concluded that while Atonement may be beautifully shot and star the delicious James McAvoy, it's just a tiny bit too literary for my un-cultured mind
- Munched on free pic'n'mix (thanks Mark!)
- Pondered the rubbishness of post-midnight TV
- Calculated just how broke I'm going to be next week and drawn up a shopping list that relies heavily on the words "Tesco Value"
- Worried slightly for my personal safety after hearing about more of the vile things that some men in this world are capable of
- Spontaneously grinned while walking down the street while daydreaming about some of the lovely things that other men in this world are capable of!
More exciting activities to follow tomorrow. I expect the highlights to include the gym, Tesco and Harry Potter 4. Sometimes, in the middle of my busy life, days like this are just bliss.
- Marvelled at the very special shapes my hair is able to form after just one night's sleep
- Read one and a half books - ok so they were only part of my great Harry Potter re-read mission but it still counts
- Cried twice (yes, it was over Harry Potter...and yes, it was the same bits that made me cry the first time...but in my defence, he had won the Quidditch cup! This is big stuff here people!)
- Played a bit of Mozart while watching people on the street outside
- Smothered some interestingly sparkly cream on my foot in an attempt to de-mingify it - who knew prescription medicine could be so pretty?!
- Eaten two extremely tasty sandwiches
- Craved Green and Black's Maya Gold but resisted buying any (hurrah!)
- Concluded that while Atonement may be beautifully shot and star the delicious James McAvoy, it's just a tiny bit too literary for my un-cultured mind
- Munched on free pic'n'mix (thanks Mark!)
- Pondered the rubbishness of post-midnight TV
- Calculated just how broke I'm going to be next week and drawn up a shopping list that relies heavily on the words "Tesco Value"
- Worried slightly for my personal safety after hearing about more of the vile things that some men in this world are capable of
- Spontaneously grinned while walking down the street while daydreaming about some of the lovely things that other men in this world are capable of!
More exciting activities to follow tomorrow. I expect the highlights to include the gym, Tesco and Harry Potter 4. Sometimes, in the middle of my busy life, days like this are just bliss.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Another week off
I'm taking another of my random weeks of annual leave this week. I try to arrange these every two to three months to give myself some much-deserved lie-ins and to prevent me killing everyone I work with, and as usual this one is going very well. It started with a delicious dinner and a film at MGL's on Saturday night, and that was followed by the afore-mentioned wedding. Sunday was a day of rest (appropriately) before my mum arrived on Monday. We went to Charlecote Park and Stratford and had a jolly touristy time, before moving on to ASK in the evening for three very yummy and highly fattening courses. On Tuesday we drove to Solihull to help me find the school I have to visit in a couple of weeks' time, which was a comedy adventure all round as we tried to work out where to get off the A41 and which end of town we were aiming at. We were successful in the end and celebrated with hot chocolate at M&S and a delicious lunch at the Loch Fyne seafood restaurant in Knowle. I had a whole dish of mussels for my first course and very nice they were too. Mum left in the afternoon and MGL came round for dinner, a film and an epic Uno battle which I sadly lost. I seriously think that an all-night Uno tournament could be an amazing social event!
Today I've been busy doing chores and writing more of my guide to my holiday for parents, friends and general hangers on. It's 11 pages long so far! This evening MGL and I are going to Le Bistrot Pierre for their Dine with Wine evening - I have a two for one voucher so we're going to have three courses and three glasses of wine each for £25 in total. Bargain. Tomorrow is the cinema to see Atonement with Raquel, and then it's the weekend when for once I have nothing planned. I do however have two double dates arranged for the week after and the social whirlwind that is my life shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.
A final exciting point to mention - yesterday MGL asked me if I was free on any weekends near to my birthday, because he wants to take me away somewhere! I didn't actually think men like that were real. I really hope I never wake up from this particular dream - I could definitely get used to this!
Today I've been busy doing chores and writing more of my guide to my holiday for parents, friends and general hangers on. It's 11 pages long so far! This evening MGL and I are going to Le Bistrot Pierre for their Dine with Wine evening - I have a two for one voucher so we're going to have three courses and three glasses of wine each for £25 in total. Bargain. Tomorrow is the cinema to see Atonement with Raquel, and then it's the weekend when for once I have nothing planned. I do however have two double dates arranged for the week after and the social whirlwind that is my life shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.
A final exciting point to mention - yesterday MGL asked me if I was free on any weekends near to my birthday, because he wants to take me away somewhere! I didn't actually think men like that were real. I really hope I never wake up from this particular dream - I could definitely get used to this!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Huge respect
To my brother, who yesterday completed the Boston Rowing Marathon in a single scull to raise money for Cancer Research. 50k in a boat all on your own apparently results in a very sore arse and extreme tiredness, but with over £300 raised so far it's all worth it. Well done Simon!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Wedding
Yesterday a bunch of us headed to Kenilworth for the rather fabulous wedding of Hannah and Anthony. The sun blazed down from a clear blue sky, the location was gorgeous (St Nicholas in Abbey Fields) and the service was just full of love and joy. The bride was beautiful, the groom was dashing and looked so proud and the company was excellent. At the reception we ate copious amounts of rather delicious food, drank wine and toasted all and sundry with champagne. Then we danced to possibly the best jazz band in the world ever (cheques can be made payable to me guys), got very hot and sticky attempting to ceilidh, which at one scary point involved my feet leaving the floor for quite a considerable period of time, and had rambling gin-fuelled conversations on the steps outside. I picked up some ideas to add to my ever-expanding wedding plan, remembered how good I feel about myself when I'm dolled up looking pretty, and marvelled once again at the way her wedding day can make a woman emit that indefinable radiance that enables her to light up a room all on her own. As someone wrote in the guest book, if every day of Hannah and Anthony's life is as wonderful as yesterday then they'll be the happiest couple in the world.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Happy little butterflies
I'd just like to say that I am, at this moment in my life, extremely happy and very excited about the rest of the year and beyond. Long may it continue!
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Hugely exciting news
My fabulous mum sent me an email this morning that made me shout "Woooooooooo!" and push my chair back across the office while waving my arms in the air (literally). David Tennant, aka World's Most Gorgeous Man, is returning to the RSC next year to play Hamlet, aka My Favourite Shakespeare Character. I can feel a girly night coming on...
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Productivity
I'm having one of my immensely productive weekend days, when I make a huge list and just run round manically until everything's completed. Usually I do this on a Saturday but I was out all day so today I've staved off the Sunday blues with my many and varied tasks. So far I've booked all my youth hostels for my trip, re-organised the budget, got up, done the laundry, watched the final day of World Athletics, cleaned, been shopping, written cards and wrapped presents. I'm so excited about the hostel bookings as it means everything is now falling into place: I have all my flights booked and I know where I'm staying for each night of my trip, so now I just have a few more things to buy and all my printing to do (I'm developing a quite impressive "Folder of Doom" containing all the information I could possibly need) and then it's the pre-trip arrangements that will take up the rest of my time - making a comprehensive change of address list, organising leaving parties (plural!), arranging to move out of the flat, sorting out things at work etc. I'm also quite excited about the shopping I did today - having opted out of my pension scheme, done some overtime and had a payrise, I've been able to buy everything that has been on my "I really need this and can't afford it list" for the past few months, including some black work shoes for winter that are actually waterproof (previously I only had my knee boots after the demise of my other shoes) and a new bottle of perfume which may not seem essential to any men reading this, but I'm sure all the girls will understand that it's not nice to go for four months without any perfume to wear on a night out. I've also picked up a rather fabulous fascinator to wear to a wedding in a couple of weeks' time - I'm sure it'll come in useful for Henley next year too!
Anyway, talk of weddings brings me to yesterday when I had a fun day out at Hannah's hen party. I met the girls in Stratford where they were very easy to spot in the uniform of bright orange tops that we'd been asked to wear. Hannah had a tasteful pink "Bride to be" sash and purple balloons which clashed very nicely with the whole ensemble! We hired rowing boats and split into three teams for a treasure hunt where all the clues were based around the river - cue comedy rowing and me running across the park to try to find an RSC leaflet and getting in the way of all the tourists taking photos of Shakespeare's monument while I worked out who the four statues round the edge represented. Our team finished first and got almost all the answers right which I think was an excellent effort.
After all that exertion we headed back to Hannah and Ant's flat to collapse in a heap for a couple of hours, eat chocolate and drink rose, and discuss weddings. Brilliantly girly, and although I only knew a couple of people there everyone was lovely and it was really fun to chat. Gradually we started getting ready for the evening before heading out with the world's worst taxi firm to Flamenco in Meriden for tapas and salsa dancing. I left at 10 to catch the bus home (standing on the A45 in the pitch dark waiting for the 900 was an interesting experience!) but it was great fun for the short time I was there and the tapas was absolutely gorgeous - the best I've ever had in this country. I definitely recommend the restaurant, although it's probably best to go there with someone who's driving! Anyway, I made it back home just before midnight and collapsed into bed after a great evening. I can't wait for the wedding now to see how lovely Hannah looks in her dress and to see everyone I met again.
This week looks set to be pretty quiet, with just one evening out at MGL's - he's making fajitas which should be yummy. Then at the weekend my brother's coming over which will be brilliant, and we're all going for dinner which I must remember to book tomorrow. Sunday afternoon sees a visit to Coventry to a colleague's birthday/housewarming party so it should be good fun all round. For now though, I'm going to watch the world rowing and feel virtuous after all the productivity of the day.
Anyway, talk of weddings brings me to yesterday when I had a fun day out at Hannah's hen party. I met the girls in Stratford where they were very easy to spot in the uniform of bright orange tops that we'd been asked to wear. Hannah had a tasteful pink "Bride to be" sash and purple balloons which clashed very nicely with the whole ensemble! We hired rowing boats and split into three teams for a treasure hunt where all the clues were based around the river - cue comedy rowing and me running across the park to try to find an RSC leaflet and getting in the way of all the tourists taking photos of Shakespeare's monument while I worked out who the four statues round the edge represented. Our team finished first and got almost all the answers right which I think was an excellent effort.
After all that exertion we headed back to Hannah and Ant's flat to collapse in a heap for a couple of hours, eat chocolate and drink rose, and discuss weddings. Brilliantly girly, and although I only knew a couple of people there everyone was lovely and it was really fun to chat. Gradually we started getting ready for the evening before heading out with the world's worst taxi firm to Flamenco in Meriden for tapas and salsa dancing. I left at 10 to catch the bus home (standing on the A45 in the pitch dark waiting for the 900 was an interesting experience!) but it was great fun for the short time I was there and the tapas was absolutely gorgeous - the best I've ever had in this country. I definitely recommend the restaurant, although it's probably best to go there with someone who's driving! Anyway, I made it back home just before midnight and collapsed into bed after a great evening. I can't wait for the wedding now to see how lovely Hannah looks in her dress and to see everyone I met again.
This week looks set to be pretty quiet, with just one evening out at MGL's - he's making fajitas which should be yummy. Then at the weekend my brother's coming over which will be brilliant, and we're all going for dinner which I must remember to book tomorrow. Sunday afternoon sees a visit to Coventry to a colleague's birthday/housewarming party so it should be good fun all round. For now though, I'm going to watch the world rowing and feel virtuous after all the productivity of the day.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Bank Holiday Bliss
I sometimes find that I get bored during bank holiday weekends - for some reason they're often quieter than my average weekend and apart from being a lovely excuse not to think about work for three days, I don't find much to enjoy in them. This weekend, however, is shaping up to be much better than the average.
It all started yesterday at about ten to five (well, that's close enough to the weekend to almost count) when I received a letter from our Director to say that as expected I've been awarded an pay increment for my work this year, which in real terms means a pay rise of £1063 pa effective from this Friday's pay. This will be mighty useful given that we're entering the most expensive third of the year, and kicked things off on a high note. This morning the weekend proper started well too, when my new (pink!) phone was delivered. I hadn't been able to select a delivery time when I ordered it so I was half expecting to be sitting at home all day unable to go out into the sunshine, but it came at 8.45 which was excellent as it meant I could do what I liked with the day. Also in the normal post was my free Ghosts CD which I ordered this week in place of one I ordered ages ago that HMV couldn't get for me - and mighty excellent it is too.
To add to all these happenings, the weather has belatedly remembered that it's August and has put on a display of sunshine and heat that reminded me why I love England. Other countries may have a reliable summer each year, but there's just nothing like this country on a glorious day. I wandered down to the farmers market this afternoon to buy speciality sausages for tomorrow's bbq, and then headed to the library where I borrowed some chick lit and a book about Newton to get my brain going, and sat in the park reading for an hour or so soaking up the sun. I love having such a wonderful park so close to my house - it almost (but not quite) makes up for not having a garden.
My dinner's now in the oven and I'm sipping a cold glass of Sauvignon and watching comedy military bands at the Edinburgh Tattoo on tv (don't ask me why). Tomorrow I'm seeing all my lovely friends at one of Juicy and Stu's excellent bbqs, and then on Monday I'm going to the cinema with MGL. I'm having one of those moments when life is just grand, and it looks like that's going to continue for a while yet. Hurrah.
It all started yesterday at about ten to five (well, that's close enough to the weekend to almost count) when I received a letter from our Director to say that as expected I've been awarded an pay increment for my work this year, which in real terms means a pay rise of £1063 pa effective from this Friday's pay. This will be mighty useful given that we're entering the most expensive third of the year, and kicked things off on a high note. This morning the weekend proper started well too, when my new (pink!) phone was delivered. I hadn't been able to select a delivery time when I ordered it so I was half expecting to be sitting at home all day unable to go out into the sunshine, but it came at 8.45 which was excellent as it meant I could do what I liked with the day. Also in the normal post was my free Ghosts CD which I ordered this week in place of one I ordered ages ago that HMV couldn't get for me - and mighty excellent it is too.
To add to all these happenings, the weather has belatedly remembered that it's August and has put on a display of sunshine and heat that reminded me why I love England. Other countries may have a reliable summer each year, but there's just nothing like this country on a glorious day. I wandered down to the farmers market this afternoon to buy speciality sausages for tomorrow's bbq, and then headed to the library where I borrowed some chick lit and a book about Newton to get my brain going, and sat in the park reading for an hour or so soaking up the sun. I love having such a wonderful park so close to my house - it almost (but not quite) makes up for not having a garden.
My dinner's now in the oven and I'm sipping a cold glass of Sauvignon and watching comedy military bands at the Edinburgh Tattoo on tv (don't ask me why). Tomorrow I'm seeing all my lovely friends at one of Juicy and Stu's excellent bbqs, and then on Monday I'm going to the cinema with MGL. I'm having one of those moments when life is just grand, and it looks like that's going to continue for a while yet. Hurrah.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Loving Ludwig
I just sat and sight-read the Appasionata sonata. Beethoven really has to be my favourite composer to play - huge chords, gorgeous harmonies, beautiful slow movements and exhilarating fast movements. I could sit and play all day if it didn't make my hands and wrists hurt so much! Damn my small span. I love my piano and I love Ludwig!
Monday, August 20, 2007
The big reveal
I feel I must apologise to you, loyal readers, for not being completely honest with you over the past three weeks or so. Something has been going on in my life which, while occupying a lot of my time and thoughts, I haven't wanted to write about. However, this evening I have sat down with the intention of telling you all about me and my new relationship with MGL.
MGL may be better known to many of you as Raquel's Housemate Who Isn't The Scary Hungarian One. We met a few months ago at a random night out and exchanged a few words, and then got chatting properly at Bar 44 last month when everyone went for cocktails and I got enormously drunk. He walked me home and we giggled about Bourbon biscuits (for some reason these had great significance at the time - something to do with them sounding a bit like my surname...) and the next day in my immensely hungover state I added him to Facebook (ah, romance in the digital age) and sent him an extremely garbled message. About a week later he asked if I wanted to go for a drink, and off we toddled to spend a very nice Sunday evening discovering that we still had things to talk about when sober and finding out all the things we had in common. He walked me home again, we lingered on the doorstep and, well, you know the end of that story.
Over the following few weeks we've been to the cinema, had a really delicious and very expensive meal at Rhubarb (for which I paid absolutely nothing), and cooked dinner for each other. The latest event was on Saturday when I made a kickass lasagne and a quite frankly excellent chocolate pudding, and we sprawled on the sofa watching films and drinking wine. It was something that I've really missed doing, and was followed by something else that I've rather missed - let's just say that the date ended after lunch on Sunday at about 3pm...
So there you are, right up to date, and I'm sure that more tales of MGL and me will follow. I don't know if there's any future in this and I don't know where I want it to go, but I do know that I'm having loads of fun right now and it's brilliant to finally have someone to dress up for, go out with and look forward to seeing. I've really missed it, and I'm going to make the most of my lucky break for as long as I can.
Oh, and why MGL? Well, those of you with longer memories may recall this blog's fine tradition of assigning nicknames to all my disastrous dates. Evil Wanker Car Man is a particularly fine example and the name is still used to evoke all that's bad about dating today (or it should be anyway). I felt, therefore, that I should continue with this tradition for my less disastrous romantic encounters, and have named my current bloke to reflect one of his best qualities that can be very hard to find. Mr Genuinely Lovely listens to what I say AND remembers it, puts his arms round me when I'm falling asleep and refuses to let me pay for dinner. Worth hanging on to, at least for now? I certainly think so.
MGL may be better known to many of you as Raquel's Housemate Who Isn't The Scary Hungarian One. We met a few months ago at a random night out and exchanged a few words, and then got chatting properly at Bar 44 last month when everyone went for cocktails and I got enormously drunk. He walked me home and we giggled about Bourbon biscuits (for some reason these had great significance at the time - something to do with them sounding a bit like my surname...) and the next day in my immensely hungover state I added him to Facebook (ah, romance in the digital age) and sent him an extremely garbled message. About a week later he asked if I wanted to go for a drink, and off we toddled to spend a very nice Sunday evening discovering that we still had things to talk about when sober and finding out all the things we had in common. He walked me home again, we lingered on the doorstep and, well, you know the end of that story.
Over the following few weeks we've been to the cinema, had a really delicious and very expensive meal at Rhubarb (for which I paid absolutely nothing), and cooked dinner for each other. The latest event was on Saturday when I made a kickass lasagne and a quite frankly excellent chocolate pudding, and we sprawled on the sofa watching films and drinking wine. It was something that I've really missed doing, and was followed by something else that I've rather missed - let's just say that the date ended after lunch on Sunday at about 3pm...
So there you are, right up to date, and I'm sure that more tales of MGL and me will follow. I don't know if there's any future in this and I don't know where I want it to go, but I do know that I'm having loads of fun right now and it's brilliant to finally have someone to dress up for, go out with and look forward to seeing. I've really missed it, and I'm going to make the most of my lucky break for as long as I can.
Oh, and why MGL? Well, those of you with longer memories may recall this blog's fine tradition of assigning nicknames to all my disastrous dates. Evil Wanker Car Man is a particularly fine example and the name is still used to evoke all that's bad about dating today (or it should be anyway). I felt, therefore, that I should continue with this tradition for my less disastrous romantic encounters, and have named my current bloke to reflect one of his best qualities that can be very hard to find. Mr Genuinely Lovely listens to what I say AND remembers it, puts his arms round me when I'm falling asleep and refuses to let me pay for dinner. Worth hanging on to, at least for now? I certainly think so.
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