D-r-o-w-n-i-n-g

Today I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of paper, work, complications and confusions. It was predictable that this week would be a difficult one. Still, I'm getting good support from those who should be supporting me so I'm happy with that.

I'm also happy with my new flatscreen, although the colour is slightly odd.

And I'm also happy with this. As I'm a bit lacking in inspiration to come up with anything funny, I thought I'd link to this, as it made me laugh out loud - thank you Tania - although of course I'm not laughing at your pain!

Sleep

Today I had the best sleep in ever. I didn't get up until 2pm. It would be fair to say that the earplugs I was wearing helped, but the sleep was clearly much needed. But, now I'm drunk again, no surprise there then.

I'm also massively scared about the week ahead. I just hope that by this time next week (when incidentally I'll be in Brussels) I can look back on the week (I'll no doubt be drunk by then too) and be happy.

I love you, you're Lewisham, now change

Lewisham. Much as I love you (but only for your reasonable amount of shops and short walk to Blackheath) you're not where I want to be at 11.30 on a Thursday night. But, love you I did for ten minutes after falling asleep on the DLR and ending up with you instead of Mudchute or Island Gardens. Either would have done nicely. Why didn't they have the courtesy to wake me up when I was with them? I'm going to have to have words with them.

I'm now so cold that I'm nearly crying. But hey, I have to be up in 5 hours. Doesn't that rock. Not. I'd rather be in Lewisham.

Although actually I'd rather be in Rome. I never came back to post more about it. Enough to say that I had the most wonderful time, and cemented some wonderful friendships, and I really want to go back there sometime. Rome - you treated us well and we will be back. This time maybe I won't have quite so many accidents!

Viva Roma

More about Rome soon, but just time to say - it treated us very well, we had a fab time, lots of laughs, and took lots of pics, some of which are here, some of which need tweaking, and some of which probably won't ever make it past my camera and in to public view. More will arrive there soon.

Tania, Marty, Helen and Pete - thank you

The case of the mysterious missing comments

I owe those of you who have posted comments on here recently an apology - for some reason unknown to me, the 'moderate comments' option had been turned on, and I only stumbled across the 7 comments waiting for my authorisation by accident this evening! So, I've published them all now! There was me thinking no one loves me and that no one is reading my random ramblings and rantings anymore... ;-(

Anyway, I think I've changed the settings back now, so feel free to comment willy nilly.

Today I have three things in my head:

1) Far far too much information about the job I was doing until two weeks ago, the job I'm doing now, and the job I'm about to start

2) A lovely tale about the Mancunian taxi driver who drove me home last night, after I left work at 11.30. Turns out he might know my Dad! Small world eh.

and

3) A rant. The garage where I have put my car in for an MOT and service are blatantly trying to rob me. They are being paid a handsome amount to do the service and MOT, and then they had the cheek (this is only one example) to tell me today that they were going to charge me an extra £50 for investigating why my windscreen washers weren't working, on top of the cost of the part which needs replacing to get them to work to get it through the MOT. DON'T FRICKING THINK SO!! I might be a blonde(ish) woman but I'm not bleedin stupid you idiots!! I think I've put them in their place. They'll learn not to mess with the Griffiths if they give me any more crap when I pick up the car tomorrow.... Grrrrr.

I got the boots

Well, I got two pairs of boots actually. Which is one more than I really needed. Bit like how I didn't really need two new tops, a pair of pj's, a pair of jeans, a scarf, a bag, a belt and a coat, nor did I really need a nice expensive dinner from Marks and Spencer.

Still, I feel better for it, and the mammoth shopping trip which resulted in acquiring all of this was very successful given it took place at lunchtime and in one hour after work! The only slightly distressing thing was that I had to go to three different branches of Next to get the coat I wanted... I was extremely distressed by the time I got to the last one and found they didn't have the right size. However, I thought I would be astute and have one last check to make sure there wasn't one on the wrong hanger or something, and, sure enough, there it was!

The point of that little tale is that it led me to reflect on how something so simple and seemingly insignificant can have a massive impact on your mood. I wasn't expecting to get it, and then I really wanted it, and then I found it and was elated. Just goes to show that good things can happen when you least expect them to...

I was so happy once I'd tried it on that I even found myself singing along (quietly of course) to the Christmas songs in the shop, despite being a firm believer that things Christmasy should not be present anywhere until at least 1st December.

On a slightly different note, having realised that 6 out of 7 posts this month so far have been alcohol related, I thought I'd mention that I'm not drinking this week (except I had a glass of champagne last night, but that doesn't count). That is until we get to Rome...

two and a half

It has, in the words of another, been a crazy week. And, like Marty, I can't post about a lot of it on here. However, the headline news is that I've been promoted, and, although it was a gruelling process, I'm well chuffed, and everyone else seems to be too, including those who matter!

Had a fantastic night celebrating and catching up with old uni and college friends. The hangover was evil though. I love the work hard - play hard ethic! I am however very much appreciating a Sunday in the house pottering around right now though!

To all those who have wished me luck and supported me in various different ways this week - thank you. I really do appreciate it.

And expect champagne and merriment once the pay rise comes through!

I'm just going to leave you with two pictures:

Yeah baby!

I've had some fantastic nights out "just because it's Wednesday" in the past, right back to when I was at school. I'm not sure why this is, it might be because I hate Thursdays. Anyway, you can see the repercussions of tonight here.

But before you go there, check out this:



which I think is a cool pic - good macro setting on camera...

and this,



which Na and I think is a hilarious photo, but I suspect others won't quite see why!

More later on in the week...

Two pints of lager and a packet of crisps

Except in my world it's five pints of lager and a packet and a half of crisps.

Hic.

Still, finally managed to spend tonight catching up with KWTNH. Anyone who is still wondering who he is can email me to find out and I'll tell you, but I'm not going into it on here. But my god he makes me laugh! And he's a great mentor type person. He's frank and a bit harsh at times, but he cuts to the chase, and he's got to know me very well over a relatively short period of time. Funny how that happens.

I'm glad to have lots of great and wonderful mates, but they more or less fall in to completely different groups, and I really enjoy that. It gives me lots of different perspectives. Some might say it gives me more than the average amount of opportunities to go out drinking too...

Fireworks

Again, I've got so much going round in my head that I could probably get a whole long page filler of a post out - but I'm not going to.

I am going to leave you with some fireworks pictures though:







From the very good display at Blackheath last night. I have, again, had an excellent weekend. Best of luck to Pete and Helen in their new flat. And Na - the raspberry daquiri went straight to my head, but it did the trick. Thank you.

PS - there's more photos on my Flickr site.

Full

I've got a whole head full of thoughts that I can't quite marshal in to a logical and reasonable blog entry, and as I've already excelled myself with one extra special completely non-sensical blog entry this month (and it's only the 4th!), I think I'd better restrain myself!

I am however going to comment on the fantasticness of risotto. As I had another unexpected evening at home last night (KWTNH again, but he's got a good excuse), I cooked my most favourite dish ever, risotto with herbs and goats cheese (those of you who know my cooking/eating habits will know that my 'most favourite dish ever' has a habit of changing, but this is it for now!). Given that I am incapable of cooking a reasonable amount for one, I usually end up with left overs. Which I've just scoffed this evening, as a very satisfactory post-wine/champagne snack.

The best thing about risotto (which outweighs by far the 30 mins preparation and stirring that it takes) is that you get a whole bowl full of carbohydrate rich creamy comfort food - but with no cream actually involved and therefore not many calories. Wicked. You've got to be happy with that.

Sense

Um. Well. That didn't make sense did it!

Hopefully the person to whom the last paragraph was addressed has seen it and taken note. I did toy with the idea of editing the post, or removing it completely, but have decided to leave it there. Some of you thought I was being morose, some thought enigmatic. I think 'drunk'. And maybe a bit too thoughtful for my own good.

Anyway, I've improved a crap day at work with two of my favourite things this evening:

1) Shopping. I went in to Dorothy Perkins to look for boots... and came out with a skirt, a cardigan, a necklace and a pair of earrings. And no boots. Ah well

2) Chocolate. The Marks and Sparks melting chocolate pudding things. Need I say more.

Do you?

I've had the kind of evening that makes you realise things about yourself that you didn't previously realise. There is a high chance that this isn't going to make sense to some of you, mainly because I'm suffering from a poor Stella vs food ratio. Still, enough of you will be able to make sense of it to make it worth posting, and those of you who can't make sense of it can have fun trying!

It's like when you're convinced that you don't want something, so convinced that you can ignore what others are saying to you, but then you suddenly (even though it's maybe more than a year later) realise that maybe they are right.

The key thing this has taught me is that sometimes your friends can know you better than you know yourself. And that is the sign of a true friend, that they can be patient with you when they know they are right, but that they also know it's going to take you some time to realise it. Thank you. I love you :-)

Phenomenon

Three things are going through my mind...

1) Phenomenon. I had to spell this word backwards correctly during a game of Cranium on Saturday, and, well... I didn't. Since then it has been running through my mind on and off, and I can do it now:

n-o-n-e-m-o-n-e-h-P. See.

2) I have a 1 in 4 chance of getting promoted. I'm beginning to get very nervous about the interview.

3) Mmmm fudge. I've just found some leftover fudge from Edinburgh from the the best fudge place in the world ever. Yum. I'm particularly enjoying the belgian chocolate, as it's not quite as hard as the others. I've also just discovered that they do mail order, which is a really bad plan for the waistline, and decided that if I ever ever get married, I'm going to have fudge as wedding favours. How cool is that!!

Another summer's day has come and gone away

I completely forgot that the clocks had gone back when I woke up this morning. So there I am, getting ready to leave Na and Steve's for Kent... and then Na reminds me that actually it's only 8.40, not 9.40, and that not only am I therefore not late, I've also got her up an hour than she needed to be! Sorry Na!

The reason I had to be up was twofold... we spent Saturday night at No 28 having a games night. Otherwise known (this won't surprise most of my readers) as an excuse to eat food and get drunk and play board games. It was a very funny night, although us girls weren't quite as amused at the end of the session (2.30am!) when we lost to the boys, especially when there was two of them and three of us! Anyway, Na Steve and I walked back to theirs at 3am, leaving my car there, and I therefore had to get it, hence the need for a lift from Na, before heading off to Kent. The walk home was special in itself, it's been a very long time since I walked home drunk in the early hours of the morning in Hatfield with the birds!

Once I'd impressed my mum and my nan by turning up in Broadstairs on time (more by luck than design due to my timing problem above!) we had a lovely day. Went for a pub lunch, and, although we didn't, it was easily warm enough to sit outside. At the end of October. Weird. Lovely though.

I particularly enjoyed getting out in the countryside and seeing autumn evolving in the wintry sunlight, checking out all our favourite old landmarks and visiting places. The only thing which disturbed me was that it was dark by 5pm... although that made for a good drive home because I sat in the outside lane for most of the M2 and cruised along at a decent speed, with Classic FM to accompany me.

I have moments (they are rare, and I haven't had one for a while) where Classic is just what I need for a longish drive. It's stimulating enough to keep me awake, but calm enough to prevent me from getting road rage with those irritating Sunday drivers. And there are a lot of those in Kent. One of our childhood pastimes used to be to count the number of three wheelers... today's count was 11.

I have my new camera now too. Although I've not had much chance to use it yet, and definitely haven't worked out the settings etc to get the most of it, check out my Flickr site here to see the results of my efforts. Expect more to come. I'm a snappy snappy photographer rather than a selective perfect shot photographer, so I plan on populating the site with a fair few photos over the next few weeks.

The title, by the way, is from Michael Buble's 'Home', which I've become rather hooked on recently. It's a Magic FM tune rather than a Classic FM tune though!

When a Belgian taxi driver tries to crack on to you, it's time to change your perfume

I went to Brussels for the day today. Well, I say the day, as I said in my previous blog, we were only actually there for about 5 hours!

On the way back to the station, the taxi driver tried to crack on to me. The conversation went like this:

Him "blah french something blah perfume"
Me "pardon?"
Him "I like your perfume"
Me "Thanks"
Later...
Him "the control for the window is here" (in the control panel by the handbrake). Accompanied by stroking leg action
Me "Uh, thanks"
At the station, I'm paying...
Him "You have beautiful hands. I hope I meet you again"
Me "Thanks". Run. Now

Then, I texted someone at work to say we were on our way back, and that a taxi driver had tried to crack on to me. He replied

"Must be your perfume"

And, indeed, unbeknown to him, it was!

This is not the first time recently I've had an 'interesting but wrong' flirting type encounter.

Maybe I really should change my perfume.

Unexpected

I've got an unexpected night at home (I was meant to see KWTNH, but he had a problem at home with a BT man) and now I'm not sure what to do with myself. There's lots of things I should be doing, like washing, ironing, washing up, or perhaps working on my CV, but I don't actually fancy doing any of them and am not very motivated. Which is the end result of an interesting shift, because I've been far more motivated at work these past few weeks... just not at home!

So, for the time being I'm left pondering the wisdom of my day tomorrow. I'm going to Brussels with work. Which is great (apart from the fact that I currently can't find my passport, so really should be looking for that too!) as I've never been there before (although I'm a bit worried about my lack of French skills) BUT I've just worked out the timings for the trip. It's going to take 4 hours and 56 minutes of travelling (first class on Eurostar though). And we're only going to be there for 5 hours and 7 minutes. That's only 11 minutes longer than the travelling will take!!!

Wet, soggy, and... happy

Today I have been very very wet, three times, from the rain. It's horrible. The only good time for rain is a weeknight when you're at home and don't have to go out, or a Sunday when all you feel like doing is hibernating.

I hate this period of weather. I'm a summer kind of girl, but I can get on ok with winter when it's cold and dry, and when it's snowing. I just don't like all this soggyness.

Anyway, I've had a good day today, I've relocated and restructured my job, and been encouraged to apply for a job which I didn't think I could apply for, so I'm thinking what the hell, I'm going to go for it and see what happens, the worst thing that could come out of it is that I don't get it, but I do get feedback from two people who will be reasonably instrumental in my career for the next few years, so that can't be bad.

And, I had a lovely lunch with Pete and a lovely dinner with Sophie. A lovely way to spend a Monday!

Puberty Police

As Marty has previously mentioned I seem to have some sort of odd police homing device attached to my car. Especially in Hatfield, and especially on Oxlease. Where I got stopped AGAIN tonight (5th time in about 2 years) by the police.

They wanted to know what I was doing in Hatfield when my car is registered in Docklands. I felt like saying "I pay my road tax, I can go wherever I want can't I?!" but I restrained myself, and simply said "I've been visiting friends". Puberty policeman number 1 then said "well, it's a bit late to be doing that on a Sunday night isn't it, what other reason have you got for being here?".

It was 8pm. I told them that unless they could tell me I was actually doing anything wrong, I was leaving. And I did.

(In case you're wondering, I got the 'puberty police' phrase from Wonder Boys)

Other than that, I've had a good weekend, good food, good company, and gardening, which I always enjoy. There's something about pottering around in the garden which means you can't help but relax. Although I did combine that today with some random destruction of a very big bush, which was quite satisfying!

I'm hoping that this week will be a better, less weird, and less toxic.

Day two in the Kate hangover house

I'm still struggling. I still feel hungover. Usually after a night's sleep I'm ok, but this particular one is really quite harsh. I'm going to take myself off to bed soon and hope that I feel ok tomorrow!

The route of all this was my attendance at a conference in a lovely hotel in Manchester. The 4.30am drinking stint clearly wasn't a good plan though. Why didn't I think of that at the time? I clearly had a beer head on. Had a very good laugh though and met some very interesting people and had some very interesting conversations.

Some of which have led to some interesting work opportunities, which now have my already confused head in a bit of a spin. I'm hoping that once I've had a good night's sleep and done a bit of the necessary reading, things will all be a lot clearer by Monday and then I can make some decisions!