07:45 Jaimee is wishing she could stay home today.
07:51 Jaimee is dancing in the shower.
07:52 Jaimee is daydreaming about sunny, exotic locations.
07:53 Jaimee is happy she caught up with Nicky for dinner in Clapham Junction last night.
09:15 Jaimee is at work after a painful commute.
09:59 Jaimee is annoyed at the dude next to her picking his ear and sniffing it.
11:07 Jaimee is bored.
12:15 Jaimee is off to lunch with Michelle and Stacey.
13:40 Jaimee is too reliant on caffiene.
13:45 Jaimee is feeling slothful.
13:46 Jaimee is feeling sleepy.
14:00 Jaimee is hyper thanks to latte. Go caffiene!!
14:05 Jaimee is addicted to poppy seed bagels.
15:47 Jaimee is grossed out by ear-picking guy who has now added nose picking to his reportoire.
16:30 Jaimee is looking forward to drinks at Balham Babes tonight.
16:31 Jaimee is looking forward to the staff away day tomorrow - yay a bludge!!
16:32 Jaimee is thinking she needs to get a life.
17:05 Jaimee is wondering how to stop her brain thinking about her life in terms of Facebook status updates.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Grumpy cow post
Argh, feeling frustrated today. About career generally. Am pretty tired too after massive weekend and not sleeping so well last night. Today is officially the first appearance of "Grumpy Jaimee" for 2008.
I know, I know. 2008 is gonna be great, right?!
Well yeah. Blah blah blah. Would have slapped someone down if they told me that this morning after missing a couple of trains due to overcrowding/fog/pushy people, losing my oyster card, my staff card (think I left them in Malta) and tearing a big hole in my tights (which I HATE wearing because they make my legs itchy).
_________________
(Warning, self indulgent rant here - all prospective employers stop reading now...)
Problem with my career is that I'm never the expert in what I'm talking about.
I have a set of skills - a trade I guess you could say - and then I've got to apply those skills to lots to different subjects.
For example, right now, I'm using my skills to help communicate about Field X. There is sooooo much I don't know about Field X even after working in present job for almost 18 months.
I have never been "Field X" worker like most of my colleagues. And come end of March when my current contract ends, there's a big chance I won't work in Field X again. Guess that's just the way it is when you're a contractor and you have my set of skills.
So logic would have it that I should focus on improving my skills set so I can continue to apply them to different subjects.
Like, maybe I should really give it more than just two hoots about them and really invest in joining a professional body/institute and networking and further learning blah blah blah...
But for how many years have I been going on and on and on about how I'm just not in to what I'm doing?
Just needed to get that off my chest.
I know, I know. 2008 is gonna be great, right?!
Well yeah. Blah blah blah. Would have slapped someone down if they told me that this morning after missing a couple of trains due to overcrowding/fog/pushy people, losing my oyster card, my staff card (think I left them in Malta) and tearing a big hole in my tights (which I HATE wearing because they make my legs itchy).
_________________
(Warning, self indulgent rant here - all prospective employers stop reading now...)
Problem with my career is that I'm never the expert in what I'm talking about.
I have a set of skills - a trade I guess you could say - and then I've got to apply those skills to lots to different subjects.
For example, right now, I'm using my skills to help communicate about Field X. There is sooooo much I don't know about Field X even after working in present job for almost 18 months.
I have never been "Field X" worker like most of my colleagues. And come end of March when my current contract ends, there's a big chance I won't work in Field X again. Guess that's just the way it is when you're a contractor and you have my set of skills.
So logic would have it that I should focus on improving my skills set so I can continue to apply them to different subjects.
Like, maybe I should really give it more than just two hoots about them and really invest in joining a professional body/institute and networking and further learning blah blah blah...
But for how many years have I been going on and on and on about how I'm just not in to what I'm doing?
Just needed to get that off my chest.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Malta Madness ;)
I never considered Malta to be a party destination but I was obviously uninformed given my waaay huggggee weekend with Michelle.Michelle and I at dinner on Spinola Bay, St Julian's on the Saturday night.
We went so we could spend some quality time together before Mich heads back home.
We expected a bit of a wintersun break with loads of chatting and shopping and sightseeing and we got plenty of that. What we didn’t expect was:
# to meet so many fun people without even trying (three Swedes on a bit of bender who entertainingly crashed our lunch and wanted to take us bowling);
The view of Valletta across the bay from Sliema, Malta's main shopping area
# go bar hopping with a bunch of nice Americans who we met at dinner (they were seated next to us and we managed to strike up a conversation – it wasn't as sleazy as it sounds).
# being given a midnight tour of Paceville (or Partyville as Ben described it) and seeing why the streets were so empty during the day.
Me on Sunday afternoon, hungover, but with a bellyful of pizza, gelati and the sun on my skin.
# ending up in a sophisticated* nightclub on the 22nd floor of the Hilton office building (that our American friends insisted would be just our scene), drinking from our very own bottle of Smirnoff black and cute little mixers (courtesy of our friends), at our own private table (courtesy of our friends), admiring the best views of Malta and dancing until 4am.
# me throwing up twice the next morning. I should know better than that by now.
So, apart from me throwing up and Michelle having to listen to it, we had a lot of fun!
Other bonuses were:
# staying at my first ever European 5* hotel "Le Meridian St Julians" (being mid Winter there were loads of cheap deals).
Michelle and I walking around Valetta's city walls on Saturday.
# exploring the quiet streets of caramel coloured Valetta – a world heritage listed town.
# enjoying a really fabulous dinner overlooking Spinola Bay – the yummiest beef and red wine I’ve had in a long time
Spinola Bay, St Julian's at dusk. Beautiful!
# eating pizza and drinking pepsi for breakfast on Sunday morning (best hangover cure ever)
# spending the afternoon sitting in the sunshine, eating gelati and talking about everything and nothing with Michelle.
** for “sophisticated” and “more our scene”, read venue for the 30 – 45 age bracket. This made Michelle and I a teeny weeny bit paranoid. Are we looking old? Can we no longer cut it with the 20-somethings in all the other clubs? Ha. Was a bit of a laugh though, especially when the lift doors opened and we saw all these monied sugar daddies reclining like kings on leather sofas while the chicky babes just kind of ponced and posed about the place. It was the kind of place you'd never find if you didn't know about it.
Mich at the bottom of some steep steps in Valetta.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Cheating
Was babbling on to Damo about how I've managed to not let the Winter get to me just yet, and he just laughed.
Cynically he declared (in my best attempt to type "Northern"):
"Threah wee's en Australeah?! A wee'end en Malta? (haven't told you guys about that yet) Survive-ging the Winter? Bah! Yoor jus' cheat-ging, tha's wha' yoor doe-in! Naught lark meh. Bunkerin' down for the Winter. Oc'ober thru March. I'm stayin' righ 'ere. Arm from the Nurth. Arm tuff. Yoor jus' soft, tha's wha' yoor arrr!"
All said while eyes are twinkling so he's being nice about it ;)
But yep, back precisely one week and three days and already set to fly back out again.
This time it's a girly weekend with Michelle in Malta (small island nation in the Meditteraean - currently sunny and 15 degrees - balmy!) Have found an absolute bargain last flight/accom package through my fave website expedia.co.uk.
Seems a bit excessive that I'm going away again so soon, but Mich and Ben are heading home for good soon so squeezing in as much fun stuff as we can.
PS: congrats to Cath and Grant on their new little arrival :)!
Cynically he declared (in my best attempt to type "Northern"):
"Threah wee's en Australeah?! A wee'end en Malta? (haven't told you guys about that yet) Survive-ging the Winter? Bah! Yoor jus' cheat-ging, tha's wha' yoor doe-in! Naught lark meh. Bunkerin' down for the Winter. Oc'ober thru March. I'm stayin' righ 'ere. Arm from the Nurth. Arm tuff. Yoor jus' soft, tha's wha' yoor arrr!"
All said while eyes are twinkling so he's being nice about it ;)
But yep, back precisely one week and three days and already set to fly back out again.
This time it's a girly weekend with Michelle in Malta (small island nation in the Meditteraean - currently sunny and 15 degrees - balmy!) Have found an absolute bargain last flight/accom package through my fave website expedia.co.uk.
Seems a bit excessive that I'm going away again so soon, but Mich and Ben are heading home for good soon so squeezing in as much fun stuff as we can.
PS: congrats to Cath and Grant on their new little arrival :)!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
A dirty secret
I like the food from our staff canteen.
This is terribly embarrassing to admit to.
It’s much cooler to tell your colleagues that you know this fab little organic vegan café down the road (Coopers on the Cut) and they do a great soup and salad for £7 than to confess you head down to the fluro-lit basement to get your soup for 75p.
Am particularly enjoying the porridge with apricots this morning. Mmmmmm.
This is terribly embarrassing to admit to.
It’s much cooler to tell your colleagues that you know this fab little organic vegan café down the road (Coopers on the Cut) and they do a great soup and salad for £7 than to confess you head down to the fluro-lit basement to get your soup for 75p.
Am particularly enjoying the porridge with apricots this morning. Mmmmmm.
Monday, January 21, 2008
S-A-D
Hmmm... it appears that the jet lag is taking a little longer to wear off than I thought.
Been back a week and not achieved anything remarkable... well, except for remaining sunnily optimistic in the face of London's gloom.
2008 is gonna be great, 2008 is gonna be great, 2008 is gonna be great.
Actually, having had my 3-week Brissy summer, I’ve really noticed my fellow Londoner’s SAD (seasonal affective disorder). I’ve been chirpily wishing all my colleagues a Happy New Year when seeing them again, and they’ve all been moaning about how long ago it all feels now. People are just plain depressed.
I get SAD all the time, so I’m not going to take the high-ground about it, but I feel lucky that I had a break from the winter. Will hang to the feeling as long as I can.
_______________________________
Sat and Sun were pretty low key. Trekked up North for a less-than-successful shopping expedition to London's first (and oldest) indoor shopping mall in Brent Cross (about 45 mins on the tube from Balham).
The point was to help Damo buy a new suit in the sales. We spent a couple of hours in Zara searching for right sizes, colours blah blah blah only to be foiled at the last hurdle by a price check on an item that had a sales tag, but apparently was “not for sale”. Given that we'd waited in the queue foooorevvvvvveeeer - watching staff and customers faff about in slow motion - it was enough to make us throw our hands up in desperation and leave without buying anything.
Even my shoe hunting went amiss. I had found the *perfect* right foot, black, knee-high boot at Nine West. Gorgeous. All leather. Appropriately sized heel. Padded instep. Half price. Then the sales girl told me they were missing the left one. It just wasn’t meant to be.
We did resurrect the evening though by exploring trendy Camden on our way home. Checked out a funky little Vietnemese place, strolled the busy streets and saw "Charlie Wilson's War" at the local cinema.
Sunday wasn't very exciting. Had planned to buy a laptop, but was foiled by the miserable weather and overwhelming urge to sleep. Did catch up with Davo though for a coffee in Balham.
Been back a week and not achieved anything remarkable... well, except for remaining sunnily optimistic in the face of London's gloom.
2008 is gonna be great, 2008 is gonna be great, 2008 is gonna be great.
Actually, having had my 3-week Brissy summer, I’ve really noticed my fellow Londoner’s SAD (seasonal affective disorder). I’ve been chirpily wishing all my colleagues a Happy New Year when seeing them again, and they’ve all been moaning about how long ago it all feels now. People are just plain depressed.
I get SAD all the time, so I’m not going to take the high-ground about it, but I feel lucky that I had a break from the winter. Will hang to the feeling as long as I can.
_______________________________
Sat and Sun were pretty low key. Trekked up North for a less-than-successful shopping expedition to London's first (and oldest) indoor shopping mall in Brent Cross (about 45 mins on the tube from Balham).
The point was to help Damo buy a new suit in the sales. We spent a couple of hours in Zara searching for right sizes, colours blah blah blah only to be foiled at the last hurdle by a price check on an item that had a sales tag, but apparently was “not for sale”. Given that we'd waited in the queue foooorevvvvvveeeer - watching staff and customers faff about in slow motion - it was enough to make us throw our hands up in desperation and leave without buying anything.
Even my shoe hunting went amiss. I had found the *perfect* right foot, black, knee-high boot at Nine West. Gorgeous. All leather. Appropriately sized heel. Padded instep. Half price. Then the sales girl told me they were missing the left one. It just wasn’t meant to be.
We did resurrect the evening though by exploring trendy Camden on our way home. Checked out a funky little Vietnemese place, strolled the busy streets and saw "Charlie Wilson's War" at the local cinema.
Sunday wasn't very exciting. Had planned to buy a laptop, but was foiled by the miserable weather and overwhelming urge to sleep. Did catch up with Davo though for a coffee in Balham.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Goal driven ramblings
When I get off my train, there's a bus stop right outside the station. It's the start of Route 315 towards Streatham. Leaving every 20 minutes, the 315 does a lap around the high street before heading up the road towards my place, stopping three times before it reaches the end of my street. Depending on traffic, the whole journey takes around 5 minutes compared to the 12 it usually takes to walk it (longer when wearing heels).
Anyway, the point of this really boring story is that sometimes I get so bored walking the same walk, day in, day out, that I decide I'm going to race the 315 home. To make things *interesting*, I give myself an imaginery financial incentive. Starting at zero pounds, I get £1000 for every bus stop I beat the bus to. I can win a grand total of £3000 and if I turn into my street before the bus gets to that third bus stop, then I give myself a bonus £2000.
I beat the bus home tonight. It was very exciting.
Someone once told me that this little competion I have with the bus means I'm goal oriented. Wonder if I can use it as an example next time I go for a job interview?
___________________
Just got home after a productive Friday. Went to a conference this morning - left early 'cause I hated the small talking during the breaks (goal for 2008 - get better at networking - failed today but there's always tomorrow).
Continued to be a lady who lunched and met Damo at Pizza Express (goal for 2008 - take lunch to work - failed today but there's always next week), followed by a spot of sales shopping at Zara. Bought a gorgeous charcoal matt satin dress with beaded embroidery for £20 (reduced from £70!) (goal for 2008 - keep buying bargains - did well today)
Meandered back to work, but not before stopping for a chat with Damo's mate Emil, who I bumped into outside Waterloo station.
Faffed about a bit. (goal for 2008 -stop procrastinating - failed today but will start again in a non-jet lagged week)
Met Michelle for a drink in Old Street (goal for 2008 - explore more of north london) - went to a funky little bar called - ummm - forgotten name already... but it was good. Then met up with Davo and the GLA crew at the stinky Bavarian Beer Hall - place smelt of vegemite. Had some good goulash though. And random conversation about poo.
Beat the bus home and now watching Lost in Translation on TV - one of my all time fave films. (goal for 2008 - get better at updating my blog - kind of doing all right so far).
am sleepy.
Anyway, the point of this really boring story is that sometimes I get so bored walking the same walk, day in, day out, that I decide I'm going to race the 315 home. To make things *interesting*, I give myself an imaginery financial incentive. Starting at zero pounds, I get £1000 for every bus stop I beat the bus to. I can win a grand total of £3000 and if I turn into my street before the bus gets to that third bus stop, then I give myself a bonus £2000.
I beat the bus home tonight. It was very exciting.
Someone once told me that this little competion I have with the bus means I'm goal oriented. Wonder if I can use it as an example next time I go for a job interview?
___________________
Just got home after a productive Friday. Went to a conference this morning - left early 'cause I hated the small talking during the breaks (goal for 2008 - get better at networking - failed today but there's always tomorrow).
Continued to be a lady who lunched and met Damo at Pizza Express (goal for 2008 - take lunch to work - failed today but there's always next week), followed by a spot of sales shopping at Zara. Bought a gorgeous charcoal matt satin dress with beaded embroidery for £20 (reduced from £70!) (goal for 2008 - keep buying bargains - did well today)
Meandered back to work, but not before stopping for a chat with Damo's mate Emil, who I bumped into outside Waterloo station.
Faffed about a bit. (goal for 2008 -stop procrastinating - failed today but will start again in a non-jet lagged week)
Met Michelle for a drink in Old Street (goal for 2008 - explore more of north london) - went to a funky little bar called - ummm - forgotten name already... but it was good. Then met up with Davo and the GLA crew at the stinky Bavarian Beer Hall - place smelt of vegemite. Had some good goulash though. And random conversation about poo.
Beat the bus home and now watching Lost in Translation on TV - one of my all time fave films. (goal for 2008 - get better at updating my blog - kind of doing all right so far).
am sleepy.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
2008 is gonna be great!
Well I didn’t go to the gym. Ha! that was ambitious. Instead I left work at 4.30pm and was asleep on the couch by 5:30pm. Barely opened my eyes for when Damo came home. Think I got up around 8pm for a brief dinner. Completely useless at conversation. Went back to bed.
Got up at 4am for some cornflakes after a disturbing dream about overflowing public toilets. Then slept more till 7am. Felt really perky then though. Danced to Terry Wogan on Radio 2. He played “I’m so excited” by the Pointer Sisters. Damo was still sleeping. Bet he’s so glad to have me back ;)
Woohoo! It’s rager-slightly-random-party girl Jaimee ;)
Work slightly more bearable today. Just had lunch with a couple of girls so that’s nice. And I’ve been fussed over and told I look “really well”. That’s always nice too. Jetlag still making my brain fuzzy ‘cause I can’t think of any more exciting adjectives than “nice”.
And the fuzz probably accounts for my dodgy motto for this year (see headline – I’ve always sucked at writing headlines). But it did make for good breakfast conversation with Damo. 2007 felt like heaven (not). 2006 in the mix. 2005 and we felt alive. 2004: gimme more. 2003 was all about me. 2002 was all about you. 2001 was a lotta fun. 2000 – um… creative juices had stopped flowing by then ;)
Believe it or not I’ve actually drafted stuff to fill in the missing three months on my blog. If you’re lucky I might post it ;)
Got up at 4am for some cornflakes after a disturbing dream about overflowing public toilets. Then slept more till 7am. Felt really perky then though. Danced to Terry Wogan on Radio 2. He played “I’m so excited” by the Pointer Sisters. Damo was still sleeping. Bet he’s so glad to have me back ;)
Woohoo! It’s rager-slightly-random-party girl Jaimee ;)
Work slightly more bearable today. Just had lunch with a couple of girls so that’s nice. And I’ve been fussed over and told I look “really well”. That’s always nice too. Jetlag still making my brain fuzzy ‘cause I can’t think of any more exciting adjectives than “nice”.
And the fuzz probably accounts for my dodgy motto for this year (see headline – I’ve always sucked at writing headlines). But it did make for good breakfast conversation with Damo. 2007 felt like heaven (not). 2006 in the mix. 2005 and we felt alive. 2004: gimme more. 2003 was all about me. 2002 was all about you. 2001 was a lotta fun. 2000 – um… creative juices had stopped flowing by then ;)
Believe it or not I’ve actually drafted stuff to fill in the missing three months on my blog. If you’re lucky I might post it ;)
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Jetlag is doing my head in
First day back at work after returning from my Christmas trip back home. The jetlag is setting in right about now. And I'm so ravenously hungry! Was up at 4am munching on cornflakes 'cause my body thought it was lunch time.
Got plenty to do but I just don't feel like doing it. Figure I can get away with postponing much of it until tomorrow. Worked solidly this morning so I'm ok with slacking off a little now. Was actually due back yesterday but took the day off because last time I came back straight away I was totally useless.
Though I’m glad to say I’m still being a lady who lunches (because that is what I did every single day I was at home). Just met Michelle for a catch up in London’s square mile. Bright blue sky, big red buses and grand old buildings to welcome me back into the old blighty.
Will be back to the gym this afternoon but not sure I can be bothered. Just want to sleep. And sleep. And sleep.
Got plenty to do but I just don't feel like doing it. Figure I can get away with postponing much of it until tomorrow. Worked solidly this morning so I'm ok with slacking off a little now. Was actually due back yesterday but took the day off because last time I came back straight away I was totally useless.
Though I’m glad to say I’m still being a lady who lunches (because that is what I did every single day I was at home). Just met Michelle for a catch up in London’s square mile. Bright blue sky, big red buses and grand old buildings to welcome me back into the old blighty.
Will be back to the gym this afternoon but not sure I can be bothered. Just want to sleep. And sleep. And sleep.
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