 |
world...
been there,
and now I'm
links and
.: my photo site :.
|
|
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
 alas, Paris is cancelled... just had a phone call from James and we've decided that seeing as we're both lacking in mobile phones that are capable of roaming, it will be rather difficult to meet for a birthday picnic...bank balance considered, it's probably the best option!
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
the British really are a strange lot... typed directly from the back of my "innocent fresh yoghurt thickie" drink... "Our drinks are natural, gentle things. An as such there are a few things they don't like. Such as loud fireworks, wrestling matches in cages and those Police Rescue 999 programs. But the thing they dislike most is heat. Keep our drinks cold and you'll have a fried for (shelf) life, but put them next to a log fire and they'll shriek, call you names behind your back and start spreading nasty stories about you around town. So your one defining lessor for the warmer times of year is simple - keep your little ones coled. You'll be glad you did" oookay...
Monday, August 18, 2003
after signing off last time with "until something actually happens"...something actually happened!!! got an email from Brendan (ex-flatmate) saying he was flying to London and heading off on Contiki. I decided that a surprise visit was in order and jumped on the tube after work thursday in an attempt to find a friendly face in a pub. little did I know that I would be the one getting two surprises... standing waiting for my tube, someone pushed past my book and caused me to lose my page...how dare they!!! I was ready to give them a serve...until...I looked up and saw the skinny little white scottish git from big brother (as opposed to the chubby white scottish git that won)...it was Federico! much to my amusement I was forced to cling to the same pole as above mentioned semi-celebrity, whilst cursing the fact that I couldn't text anyone to say "guess who I've got my arm around" being a hundred or so metres underground at the time... anyhoo...I found the pub and managed to spot Brendan and snuck up on him in true "guess who" fashion...my second surprise when I looked up and saw the shifty character standing next to him was actually big Dave of the Curtin Chem crew. time for a major catch up over a burger and a few bevvies and then big hugs goodbye. Saturday was spent looking for relatively inexpensive and necessary "house stuff"...BHS (equivalent of Target) and Tescos (equivalent of Coles) proved to be happy hunting grounds and we managed to have all the necessities like crockery, cutlery, sheets, pillows, washing up liquid... Sunday...moving day...Marieke and I both lept from bed early with energetic enthusiasm (do you really believe this?) to wash the sheets, clean the room and lug the approximate 250kg of luggage to our new house. a bus ride, two tube rides and 300m walk later and we were at our new abode. surprising, we were right on time at midday but with chinese whispers between the landlord and the owner, they thought we were moving in at 5pm (a likely time for 3 full time weekday workers to move in on a Sunday?) the owner kindly shipped the rest of his belongings to his house (50m up and across the road), papers signed and inventory noted and we were the new occupants of our Wimbledon Park Palace. with the help of the extremely generous Ian (Kris' former landlord/flatmate) and his lovely Jaguar, Marieke and I went off to collect the bare necessities to christen the palace properly - with a BBQ! also most generous was Michael (Kris' work mate) with an oversized pine coffee table. both thanked with a lavish BBQ dinner of fish, sausages, zucchini, onions, potato wedges and salad. in a bizarre twist of fate, the chef (ie. moi) was the only person to suffer from what is assumed to be food poisoning and spent the night studying the bottom of our new toilets! I managed to drag myself to work today, leaving a mess of clothes, shoes, bags and various "junk" which I had every intention of unpacking and putting away last night but now have something to look forward to over the next week...kinda handy seeing as we don't have a TV! despite only having moved in 7 hours previously, our house definitely felt like a home last night, especially with our kitchen wall brighted by the faces and bodies of Mr Bloom, Mr Beckham and Mr Cute-Man-From-Runners-World-Magazine. alas my lovely double bed in my huge new bedroom will be left vacant this weekend with my trip up to visit Claire and her ripening belly!!!
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
we have a house!!! so just about everybody knows that London has just experienced it's hottest day on record...aparently "lead story" worthy on every British TV station...spare a thought for three frustrated little aussie girls searching for a new abode the day beforehand. the morning was filled with registering with estate agents and frustration at the fact that they don't/can't/won't show prospective tenants through properties on Saturdays...and then came a sign...a sign from above...well, above eye level anyway...a 5x8 card in a Wimbledon newsagent's window saying "four bedroom house for rent, available now"... we met the property manager at 4:30 and after seeing two other properties, we were ready to sign on the dotted line. we're meeting him for another look through and the down payment tonight at our new home in the leafy "Stuart Road" in Wimbledon Park...yes people, literally centimetres from the "Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club" (well, centimetres on the A-Z map). we move in on Sunday...I can't wait...a double bed in a huge bedroom with a wall of wardrobes!!! apart from our imminent move to the Wimbledon Park Palace, nothing much is going on...it's hot, damn hot, but the air-conditioning has been fixed so at least I have nine and a half hours of coolness during the day. I've planned a trip to Notts to visit the very well rounded Claire on the bank holiday weekend (22/8-25/8), then my Paris Picnic on 30/8 with Kris, Marieke and James. work (also known as the place of coolness) is going well...had a review with my manager the other day who pretty much told me to keep doing what I'm doing! also planning to celebrate Caitlin's birthday in style at a mgf gig on 26 September (with the time difference it will actually be on the special day!) more news when something actually happens
|
