Like a movie!

At dave and helen's wedding in blenhiem palace in the cotswolds. Omg it is so very grand. Just like four weddings and a funeral! I'm even wearing a thing on my head. Ivy covered church, bentlys, choirs, carriages, palace receptions and endless pimms and champagne. Am hammered in a v. Glamorous way!

sorry for lack of updates

sorry - i've been completely slack. busy at work in build up to my holidays (which start now!)

off to dave and helen's wedding tomorrow at blenhiem palace in woodstock (The Cotswolds) and then off to Croatia on Tuesday.

Will try to update properly between now and then. Last time i wrote it was just before Newquayl. Davo wrote a good little story ....

http://boyabouttown.squarespace.com/journal/2007/8/15/planes-trains-and-seals.html

gotta run, back soon!

An anniversary

Three years ago today I landed in London. OMG. I feel quite emotional about it actually. Three long years. I never thought I'd be here this long.

I have lots and lots of memories. My first giant billboards in a foreign language. Being beside myself with excitement as I looked out the window flying over London. Hearing my specially made soundtrack on my discman (a discman!!!) I think the song of the moment was Time is Now by Moloko...

...Being met by Davo and Leanne at Heathrow. Welcome to Hedonism. Cath and Grant back at the Finsbury Park palace. Drinks at Spice of Life where I met Cynthia and the late and beautiful Cath... dinner in Chinatown, dancing at Onanon, coffee at Bar Italia where I fought back the tears and wondered what on earth had I done... dancing at the Vampire club, sitting on the top deck of the doubledecker bus at dawn ....

How many countries? How many holidays? How many new friends? How many milestones missed at home? I want to think about the highlights and the lowlights. These have been the best and the darkest days I've ever had. I want to reminicse. Celebrate. Commiserate.

But I'm at work and have lots do to do before I go on holidays next week. But I need to mark the occassion somehow.

For posterity, this is what I did over the weekend just gone:
Fri 17/8 – Organised drinks at Cubana with bookclub girls and then dinner at EV, Waterloo. Lovely night.
Sat 18/8 – Davo moved out. Helped him to take his stuff to his new place down the road. Did work out at gym. Damo and I celebrated having the flat back to ourselves by going to a little Italian restaurant in Balham High Road.
Sun 19/8 – went to Buckingham Palace with my bookclub friends. Weather pretty cold as I recall. Walked to Sloane Square for lunch before catching tube to Chiswick where we joined Ben and Michelle and all their mates for his birthday drinks. Fun afternoon. Played Jenga at the pub.

Oh man, I'm feeling good today. For the first time in ages I'm feeling alive and buzzing.

I don't think I realised the full extent of it, but that fog I keep referrring to (if not on my blog than in my emails) really did pervade all of me. I neglected so much of myself and the things I love. So many things that I won't make public, but I guess a really simple example is that I stopped listening to music and buying new clothes. I was just tired, tired, tired. Automatic pilot in the rat race to and from work. Participating in things socially, but at a kind of distance from it all. There were moments that I was fully "in" but on the whole, looking back over 2007 so far, it's all a bit blurry.

It's kind of like over the past couple of days, I've just woken up.

so anyway, not going to be all dramatic and self indulgent about it - because so far I sooooo haven't been ;) - but just thought I'd share to make a change from all that whinging I do!

Have had a nice week. Well, ok, I had tonsillitis. But I got to the docs in the end and the penicillin they gave me is kicking in. But other than that, it's been cool. The weather has been just lovely. Summer definitely here.

I've ventured back in to the shops as I need some new clothes. My wardrobe is overflowing with nothing to wear. I met Michelle after work on Wednesday night for a really great girly night. We shopped up a storm in Covent Garden. It was so lovely. I love shopping with Mich. It's nice to have a second opinion and someone to encourage me to try on different stuff than my usual typical Jaimee stuff. I ended up buying this uber cool dress from French Connection (FCUK). Oh man, I just love it! wonder if I can find a picture.... ooh, I have! This dress rocks. And I bought a lovely top too (not sure about the whole big belt around the waist thing though, esp with the boobs factor). Then we had dinner at Fire and Earth in Covent Garden - very cool stuff.

Today it's gorgeously sunny. I've organised an excursion down to Borough Markets for lunch with a few of the girls in the office. Big deal as this job hasn't really been all that sociable, so hopefully this will be a bit of a shift.

Tonight I'm having a quick drink to help celebrate Cynthia's birthday and then tomorrow I'm off for a four day break down in Newquay. The Ripcurl surf championships are happening down there this weekend. Not that I'm a surfie girl, but there'll be a good feel down there. Damo's off to a stag weekend in the Lakes.

Woohooo, my summer holidays are finally starting! Lovely things to look forward - excursions to Buckingham Palace, summer drinkies down at Cubana in Waterloo, Dave and Helen's (Damo's friends) wedding in the Cotswolds (the reception is in Blenheim Palace!), a holiday in Croatian islands, a girly weekend in York for a foodie festival, my birthday, my trip to Australia for birthday parties and my sister's wedding....

Hope I can hang on to this feeling! This year is picking up...

A big moan

Oh my weekend can't come soon enough. I'm taking two days off to go down to Newquay in Cornwall. I am really looking forward to some time out. To just think.

My work is suffering a bit at the moment because I'm just so tired. Haven't had a week off since February. It's been a tough year so far with some big work projects and quite out of the ordinary events in my personal life. I'm finding myself saying to people that I've been a bit foggy of late. moan moan moan. That's all i ever do. It takes energy to not!

Oh, and to the middle aged, clearly overweight man who was coasting down Bedford Hill last night on a bike: you thought it would be soooooo funny to yell out that the icecream I was eating had 10,000 calories in it - well, I hope you fell off and hurt yourself you big git. My ice cream was really yummy and I deserved it!

Jaimee is sick again, what a shock

feeling a bit sorry for myself today. I'm not a good sick patient and my inner drama queen will always push through demanding lots of attention.

i think i have tonsillitis.

i know this because the English National Health Service have DIY self-diagnosis questionnaire thingy-ma-bob on the net and it asks you a series of questions about your symptoms and tells you whether you should go to the doctor, call 999 or just stay at home with some panadol.

Anyway, it told me it was serious enought to see my doc but there were no appointments available at my GP. I'm still at work, sipping lemsip but it's not helping my ability to swallow. it really hurts :(

I guess there's no need to martyr myself anymore as recent changes to the terms of my contract here mean that I now get paid sick leave (for the first time in about two years). but I'm not going to go home if I can make it through - really want to have next Monday and Tuesday off as going on a planned trip to England's surf capital Newquay on another of Slyv's tours (see Brighton). And then a few weeks after that I'm off to Croatia for a week, and then a few weeks afterthat I'm heading back home for my sister's wedding (yipppeeeee!)

So it looks like I'll be making chicken soup tonight and having a quiet week socially in an effort to get over it asap.

unimaginative update but don't really care as behind as usual

Well, we just had summer. To borrow a phrase from someone else, it was a really long summer and lasted all weekend!


the sun has finally come out! we had our first really hot weekend with temps around 30. given that my throat was playing up, I didn't make it to the beach or the pool, but I did spend plenty of time hanging out in the sunshine.

Thursday night Damo and I went out for dinner and saw The Simpsons movie.

Friday I met Michelle and Beth for lunch in the city which was lovely. That night I had a few drinks with Nicky and her friends to say safe travels as she heads back to South Africa for a long overdue visit. Saturday was a day of slothfulness in the sunshine, and then having dinner with davo and damo in Balham.



Sunday damo and I trekked out to the Thames Barrier park waaaaaaaaay out in east London. Was mainly to see the futuristic looking dam-structure (see pic) that has apparently saved London from flooding over 70 times since it was built in the 80s. I swear I could have been in Brisbane given the gorgeous day and the views over the river to the old docks and warehouses that are being redeveloped into funky apartments. we also watched the end of the London Triathlon, which was quite humbling given my attempts at jogging around the common.



So a nice weekend, but whatever I was coming down with was talking hold. I was shivering even in the bright sunshine! tried to have an early night but the sunshine meant loads of backyard bbq's (for those lucky enough to have their own gardens) so was quite noisy until late into the night. And when you’re not feeling well, than that just turns you into a bit of a Nigel no-friends grump.

Davo the dosser

As you can see, I've been making Davo earn his bed in our palatial flat ;)

He's been sleeping on our couch since he arrived back a few weeks ago and it's been a blast having him around. Though I am wondering what he and Damo get up to when I go to bed ;) heh heh heh.

He's our fourth guest after my Dad, Jen & Tony and Megan all came to visit last year.

It's quite bizarre having him bear witness to how much I've quietened my life down over the past few weeks. He probably thinks I'm uber-boring - at least that is what he'll be telling everyone else ;)

Seriously, apart from the mornings when we are all weary of not being perky, we're getting along like a house on fire. Well, that's what I'm telling everyone else anyway ;)

Dossing in London is a bit of an institution for the newly-arrived. I dossed at Davo's place in Finsbury Park for six weeks, so I'm just returning the favour. He wrote a review of our "hotel" which I'm flattered enough to link to here.

Hot pic dude. I think it should be your profile pic on facebook.

Diary update

Just a quick mention that I went to Bournemouth today for a bit of Jaimee-style therapy (beach action). Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. No photos though as I wasn't officially there. heh heh heh heh heh.