BritGalInTheCity

eek

2006-11-17T12:07:00.000-08:00

so am seeing the boy tonite - first time since The Split. V scared. Obviously have made all the necessary arrangements - fake tan, half-starved myself (this bit was easy seeing as I've had a permanent stomach ache since we finished!), new jewelry, french polish (he once said he liked it...) clothes, make-up and perfume sorted...just have to actually get there now. ...

Have been enjoying not seeing him and not talking about "us" but am quite worried that after I'm done tonite I'll be left feeling sad and back to how I was 3 weeks ago - wandering around the apartment unable to stop crying and feeling hugely empty....

But everyone keeps telling me I have to see him and we have to talk blah blah etc Personally I like the way my head looks when it is buried in sand.....

its official - i'm old

2006-11-09T07:29:00.000-08:00

have just had it confirmed by a train guard at Colchester station:

guard: you look cold
me: that's cos its freezing!
guard: blimey - what are you going to do when the snow comes?
me: hibernate I reckon!
guard: you want to get your husband to cuddle you
me: !$£%*^&

so...whereas men used to ask if I had a boyfriend (when I was young like a month ago in Canada), now they just assume I have a husband.

maybe its the 3 hours sleep I had last night (head thinking of all the things I would like the boy to say to me on my return and which he would never, ever say)

or maybe its the deep crevices that have appeared on my face recently, the dry chapped hands, the droopy eyes from being so wrinkly....

ok ok. I'm being self-indulgent now!

still...have to be thankful for small mercies - the carpet in first class is nicer to sit on than in pleb class....(yes I'm on a train going to London in third class again...)...actually it almost looks clean!

Plan, Stan?

2006-11-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

ug. on yet another plane, this time back to UK. Just finished watching "Trust the man"

Think it was meant to be a sarcastic title since the 2 men in it are anything but trustworthy. one of them has an affair and the other can't commit, sound familiar? I wonder how many films have this theme? art imitating life?

I just don't get it. Will someone tell me the plan please? If men were born to screw around as A says and run away from commitment then what are our roles in life meant to be? Are we meant to live apart in male and female communes and just shag for babies, cos quite frankly that would suit me down to the ground. I miss my old flatmate soo much. We were always there for each other, saying nice words when brown stuff was flying off the various fans in life: job stress, men stress, illnesses, ntl(!) we knew everything about each other. Is it just plain unrealistic to want that with a man?

So many of my male friends have had to have some sort of crisis to make them "grow up" or "recognise what they truely wanted" (sounds like tripe to me!) . If it comes that unnaturally to them then maybe we should just let them get on with it and do their own thing and we do ours.

maybe I should set up a female commune....anyone in?

no more boy

2006-10-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Well that's torn it. Have really done it now. Dumped the boy :-(

He just sat there and took it. I told him I wanted to be a proper couple who talked about an "us" and not 2 "I'"s and he never said anything. Never said my interpretations of his intentions were wrong or that actually he did love me. nothing.

Now here I am off to California tomorrow and can't stop bawling my eyes out. Not Good. Client will not appreciate a sobbing wreck training them all week. Must get it together and stop having stupid female thoughts like: am I un-lovable? will I ever be able to find someone who can stand to be with me long enough to be a proper couple? how will I cope without him?

hate feeling like this and know it will take a bloody long time to start feeling better. bloody hindsight...

Houston, Phoenix, Caifornia, London, New York

2006-10-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

ahhh yes - sounds great, doesn't it? During a 6 week period I will have been in 5 different time zones and 2 different countries. Ah the glamour, the food, the importance of my position...

(all a complete load of twaddle of course - the glamour consists of red-eye flights and thrombosis-threat, the food is airline cardboard pizza and the importance is about as much as your average lackey gets!...)

can't even say it enhances my outlook on the world (one office interior is pretty much like the next...)

oh well....onto the next time zone I guess!

Gutted

2006-10-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

Am gutted - after weeks of getting excited about what costume to wear for Halloween (gay friends mean costumes are interesting - cowgirls, French maids and tuxedos are the most recent suggestions), work has decided rather than hang out and enjoy the frivolity of this fun holiday, I have to be on the other side on the country in California :-( am gutted - I love an excuse for a party and not sure me turning up to our clients in a French maid's outfit would go down well!!

arse

2006-09-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

or arse over tit more like! What an idiot

feeling really stupid....had very good intentions this morning when I set off to the gym to do an hour step aerobics class and then an hour of total body conditioning (not as good as body pump in the UK unfortunately but the next best thing over here...)

Step class was a little complicated (the way I like it!) utilising 2 steps per person...However...towards the end of the class I fell off the step catching my ankle on the way down and falling v awkwardly. Felt like a right div at the time as I couldn't immediately get back on it so had to sit on the floor like a wally. After a while the feeling came back so I carried on, finished the class and started to get ready for body pump....then it started hurting...then it got a bit worse and then I couldn't even stand on it so I left the studio and hopped my way to reception hoping they would strap it for me!

oh no....that would be too easy for them - they decided to call the ambulance instead!!! doh. They then took me to hospital (on a stretcher with everyone looking at me - how embarrassing). so 3 hours later I have a bandage, crutches and am late for brunch...oh how my mates are going to take the piss!!!

to prove how dangerous getting fit is though - at the hospital there was me in my gym gear with a sprained ankle, a runner with a sprained ankle and a cyclist in full black lycra cycling gear with a sprained ankle - like I told my doorman on the way back into the building from my trip to the gym (on crutches, still in gym gear) "don't go to the gym - its a really dangerous place!!"

More cleanliness malarky

2006-09-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

I told you there were mental about cleanliness over here - now they're spraying food with antibacterial stuff before I buy it. Its a wonder food even resembles food over here - we might as well start eating those astronaut things...

Later...

2006-09-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

Yes I'm aware how bad that last post sounds when you look at the date...I was trying to tell myself that it was better to be alive and late than blown up...but it didn't help very much when I was stuck in Jersey on 4 hours sleep seeing lots of cabs drift by that I wasn't allowed to utilise.

Anyway - I'm back and rested a little now so I apologise if I offended anyone...

grrrr

2006-09-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

grrrrrr AM SOOOOOO PISSSEEEDDDD OFFFF RIIIGGGHTTT NOOOWW. Was hoping typing in caps would help vent the frustrations but not actually sure I feel better. The boss told me off for taking cabs from Newark (don't even get me started on this one).

So having landed on time 1 hour 40 mins ago, I've waited an hour for the shuttle (you know how it goes:
Agent: "the wait is 20 mins"
Me: "ok then"
30 mins later...
Me: "Where is he?"
Agent: "he is stuck in traffic. give him another 10 mins"
Me:"ok then...10 mins"...
repeat every 10 mins etc)

to be told it would take a further 2 hours (the flight from Montreal was 57 mins...that Canada...another country...) to get home (telling me when I booked my seat an hour previously may have been more useful...)

Abandoning that idea I then decided on the train and then a cab from Penn (too many stairs and turnstiles for a luggage-challenged person). Just missed one so am waiting for the 10.08. That should get me in about 10.40 and a cab home should get me working about 11, 1.5 hours later than if I had taken a cab....grrrrr.

I should just pay for one myself but I already do that from JFK and from Newark it ends up about $70 which is a fair amount to not expense every time. Bloody small company. Bloody skin-flint boss. Bloody skin-flint me! Well sod it. If my time to the firm is better spent on a platform for the sake of a 40 quid cab ride then I should just fuck it I suppose....

Montreal

2006-09-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

So my first experience of Montreal was a little like France - in a shop at the station (a real station with shops and a McDonald's!) after alighting the train and the proprietor asks a question in French - "I'm sorry - I'm English" I say in French back to him. He makes a face and turns away! Ok I thought - this is going to be interesting...Get in a cab and try and tell the guy where I am going in French. He counters in English and tells me I am beautiful and do I need a boyfriend for the weekend!!!

Rest of the weekend was fab - although I did the usual single person on holiday thing of walking too much and tiring myself out every day while not enjoying that much of the nightlife. I have this down to a tee now though - stay out as late as you can doing stuff - have dinner on the way back and by then its late enough to say you have had an evening of sorts. Course it helps if your bathroom in the guest house has a spa bath which is what I did on the first night! All in all a very enjoyable, slightly romantic city with lots to do and a very pretty old town.
(and they mostly speak English in the really touristy bits - phew!)

Canada!

2006-09-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

so...Canada is a weird place....just spent a few days in the capital city of Canada (Ottawa for those who are geographically challenged). Nice enough - in a kind of capital city kind of way.

However I got the train (from the capital city don't forget) and get this: at the station there is a subway and a business class lounge. That's it, no shops, no hot food, no fast food, no newsagents - nothing. ok...fine I thought.

Next I headed to the train. In a thunderstorm - the platform is OUTSIDE!!!!! All of us are soaked - not that London "its pissing it down" soaked but actual proper tropical storm soaked - the kind you only get in New York and Cuba (based on my (limited) first hand knowledge thus far)....ok fine...whatever....

I'm on the train and go to change in the loo to some dry clothes. The loo is teeny, with no shelves and no lid to cover the loo!!! Now don't get me wrong - some of the trains in London are terrible and smelly - but no lid? Its a glorified hole in the ground!

....But obviously they have wireless internet on the train....BARKING I tell you.
On way to Montreal now - where they all think they are in a different country with a different national language (schools etc are in French apparently....and English is the second language throughout Quebec....BARKING)

How to complain

2006-09-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

Will someone tell me the correct way to complain and not feel guilty? Is this because I am Catholic or British? (both?). My breakfast was late this morning (thereby making me late since I can't get into the shower until it arrives...). Then when it did come it was not all there....(kind of like the bloke who put it together!). I ring to complain and immediately the bloke is like "I'm so sorry - its completely my fault" etc etc etc. I am dumbstruck of course by his honesty and say thank you (that's the British in me) and then immediately feel guilty (that's the Catholic in me) for making him feel bad and possibly making him worry about it all day (yeah right - AS IF!) .

Hurrah - I survived

2006-08-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well - either that or I'm now living in a parallel dimension! Just landed after spending the entire flight praying and wondering when the bomb would detonate (cos after all - at the gate at every possible turn the news was telling me that an attack was imminent - therefore it must be on my flight - right? I tell you - I always loved flying - despite my physical challenges (dodgy ears that makes landing difficult - not kidding - earplanes are my saviour!). Now I'm not so sure...my parents are worried about me every time I get on a plane, I worry myself (its the 3 T's - terrorism, thrombosis and thread veins!), its getting worse every time...

Lowest forms of life

2006-07-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

Letting agents

Very much akin to estate agents and in fact some masquerade as such but a real letting agent steeps to new forms of extortion, lying and general bad behaviour - and forms a bond of mistrust with their clients, developed over many years.

Here is a simple guide should you find the need to be one at some point (I will charge a fee for any letting agents wanting to use this in their training program).

1) Always lie wherever possible - especially if telling the truth means having to get off your arse and actually do something for your pay rather than thinking of new ways to screw your customers.

2) Extract as much money as possible from the customer, this means, for example, charging for water and bathroom usage of the tenant when they come to the office to sign the contracts (extra points for adding on a breath tax in air-conditioned offices), as well as charging for contract "creation" (copy and pasting) and "management" (sitting on your arse) of your landlords.

3) Where possible, double charge for things - eg charge a "management fee" of around 6% (in addition to the 11% handling fee) , then add on extra charges for any work that is done as a result of the management fee, eg applying admin charge for extracting tax on the rental income , and checking in and out of tenants (apply separate fees).

4) Try and get short contracts - that way the upfront charges are repeated every year instead of every 2.

5) Throw all files into a black hole immediately after signing - that way you can charge all over again the next year for the same material (and as a bonus: really piss off your landlord clients who have to fill in exactly the same information all over again).

6) Pass requests onto as many colleagues as possible - that way no-one knows who's in change of anything and no-one has direct responsibility for anything. Try and aim for 1 new person a day calling Landlords and continue throughout the tenancy until it gets boring (or you have round-tripped everyone in the office, whichever comes second). Bonus points for getting colleagues from other offices roped in

Pics

2006-07-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

Thought I would share some photos that have recently been the background on my machine:

Central Park, v pretty

Obviously the Grand Canyon - v cool trip (too many photos tho...)

Cambridge - with the Boy

Flatford Mill, Dedham. Second UK trip with the Boy

lastly - my current desktop...tho it is time for a change.....

just realised...

2006-06-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

Stupid really but have just realised that as I have no actual place of work (at client sites most of the time or working from home) then I have no drinking buddies (although even when I did have a place of work they all lived so far away (NJ or Long Island) there was never any drinking opportunity anyway!)

Am kind of missing the impromptu meetings in the bar that happen all the time in London. Shooting breezes over beers, talking pants, putting the world to rights... ah - those were the days (possibly more so in my previous employment actually due to the characters there....)

Great Friday

2006-06-16T23:16:00.000-07:00

I've just had the best (week)day in ages!

Managed to fit in a quickie before the World cup game, and then the Ballet. And I even did loads of work so didn't feel guilty! What more could a girl want - footie, sex and the ballet!! Heaven

Nutters

2006-05-18T19:35:00.000-07:00

Lawyers are nutters. Am on a train back from DC to NY having spent 3 days at a client site working my arse off. They're lawyers. Most of my friends have worked with lawyers and so will believe me when I say they are a bunch of nutters.....I was working primarily for one partner who basically had forgotten where his house was located and what his wife and kids looked like. Why would anyone stay married to this person is beyond me - it must be so boring (or possibly really exciting because its like sleeping with a new man every time you see him its been so long).

More than this though - why would anyone want to work for him. He has 2 women under him(!) and a 3rd joining soon (why? you may ask!). They all think working till midnight is normal behaviour - one of them has a husband and small kids - barking. Sure if you fancy the guy and that is the only way to get your end away (office desk/photocopier/loos etc. Or maybe you're young and staying at work till midnight is a way of passing the time before the nightclub opens but normal-aged (that's me now...), married, parents with mpv's are "choosing" this as a lifestyle (not that they would ever say they are choosing it!). Barking...

Queuing

2006-05-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

So queuing (or "waiting on line" as the Americans say) is a bit of a social phenomena, I've realised... You have the British who are quintessentially anal about it, the French who are risque about it and the Americans come somewhere in the middle!

I roll up at the amtrak - after my knackering week with the mental lawyers and just want to get home (or at least begin my 3-hour journey in peace) and I find myself in the middle of a dilemma - do I join the queue which stretches halfway to North Carolina, or hang around near the gate and "push in" (UK term meaning: to join a queue in the middle and not at the end). Being still British enough to remember the sacredness of the queue, I join the end of the queue (note the importance of the "end" - not the middle or beginning - the END - the last position, after everyone else - I can send a diagram if necessary....)

The Talk

2006-04-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

Oh joy. Had The Talk with the boy. The dreaded moment - fight or flight. After all the planning it didn't happen quite as planned. First we were cuddling on the sofa and second he didn't say what I expected him to say. He said the magic figure (I had 3 years in my head - thinking that would be the amount of time it would take to find someone new (times by however many meetings it takes to find a nice one), get engaged, plan a wedding, and have babies) - and he said 3 years! (was hoping the figure might reduce if I had been with someone already for a year but am happy with that...). V happy - was thinking I might have to say goodbye to the bloke after the weekend but actually is all fine :-) Obviously it still depends on "whether we still like each other when (he) has to choose his degree college" and other practical decisions such as this but I think this is quite a positive outcome). phew

wow

2006-04-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

have just had the most amazing weekend. Boy came over to see me for Easter. Meant to have Easter in Boston with boy but work decided I was to stay in London this week (no comments needed about who owns my life please). Anyway boy came over and not this time to London (oh no - 2 randoms have my flat so therefore I live with my parents!). But the parents were away (yay!) so we had to house to ourselves. We went for walks in the country, walks around Cambridge (me secretly hoping he would like to PhD here!), walks around my home town (lots of Roman stuff - v old by the boys standards!). It was romantic, we got on well, and I felt great in his company. We were almost like a newly married couple - even the bedroom department was good (v pleased by that!).

Now have slightly modified plan. V scary. It involves a new step of finding out boy's timescale before I dump him. Come to the conclusion that actually I don't really want to dump him but if I have to I will.....

Plan?

2006-04-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

hmmm...still bothered by the 5-year plan, friends worried about me being different thing. Had a long chat to M (me mostly talking she mostly listening) and feeling a bit better. Still trying to figure out if you're meant to hang around for Mr Right and babies or if you have to help it along in some way. Have friends who have done both. Hanging around certainly works if you're young and have time but I have neither youth nor time (depending on what medical journals you read and which department your friends in the NHS work in...).

Anyway have come up with a vague plan. Think it is going to mean the end of the boy tho. Bit sad about that but have to be realistic about it. Plan goes along the lines of:

1) dump boy
2) get on internet
3) date
4) marriage to American Catholic who wants to live in UK (preferably very financially self-sufficient and gorgeous)
5) leave current company and move to UK
6) have UK babies and be a stay-at-home mum for a few years.

Only problem is the boy. Don't really want to get rid of him but is at completely different stage in life to me. The degree is over next year but is then 5 years of PhD to go! (and of course he wants to stay in US for that).

Also bit worried that I will lose other US mates that are his mates when the dumping happens...

where am I?

2006-04-07T23:38:00.000-07:00

S says she thinks I've changed. That I sound unsettled. Well der - I spend some of my time in NY and some over here living out of a suitcase and a few drawers my parents can spare, commuting over an hour to work while 2 young girls are getting the benefit of my London flat with new kitchen and great decor and not even covering my mortgage! Of course I'm unsettled!

Had a bit of a rough weekend actually. Coming back to blightly is always hard what with the mountains of friends, family and work people I have to see. Its worse this time around when work have pimped me out pretty much every day to one client or another and all my friends are even more dispersed cos they're building nests all over the south-east. Hen nights, marriages and pregnancies. Scans, baby names and duties - its all getting to me. I feel like I'm really old and going no-where when I come back. Like everything has moved on and I haven't - still in limbo, still go no clue where I'm headed or what my 5-year plan is (apparently I'm meant to have one of those....). J accused me of being boring (given up alcohol for lent) and that probably had something to do with it but in reality I'm just not myself at the moment...maybe I just need time to settle back in...

traveling 3rd class

2006-04-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

What's happened to England since I left? I'm here again, on the floor of a train trying to finish some work for a client I'm with all day today. Meanwhile there are THREE, yes count them, 3 first class carriages of poncy men snoring their heads off (obviously 1 person per set of 4 chairs cos normal people don't sit in first class). And this isn't a one off. Of the 4 times I've traveled to London 3 times I've been sat on the floor freezing my arse off. You know things are bad when you're actually scrabbling for floor space with other passengers! Talk about 3rd class - next time I'm going to bring some chickens and donkeys - help it seem more real (they might be warm too). I asked the conductor for a discount for 3rd class and he just told me there are 70 people standing on this train! How outrageous is that? That's a whole carriage worth of people! And the worst thing is that those who sit about giving orders all day are the ones who have seats while the real workers (who have too much work they have to do it half the night and on the train in the morning) are the ones who have to sit on the floor (ruin their nice coats that they can't afford to keep mending).

I feel like I'm caught in Max Weber's self-fulfilling prophecy....

tick...

2006-04-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

aggghhhhhh. All my friends are getting pregnant! How did that happen? One minute we were a huge group clubbing every weekend and doing things we shouldn't; snogging each other and having much merriment and now they're all up the duff! And the few who aren't pregnant are shacking up with each other or worse - getting married! Does that mean I should be doing it? Or do I think I feel I should because they all are and I want to fit in?

What the "L"??

2006-02-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

ug - here i am again in a store looking for valentine cards that don't say the "L" word on them. How did I get in this situation again? I've been proposed to twice in the last 2 months (mostly jokes but semi-serious) by ex's and I'm deliberately with someone for whom marriage is the furthest thing on his mind (at least to me anyway). hmmm - does this say more about him or me?

sanitary confinement

2006-01-08T18:12:00.000-08:00

so... funny thing.

I'm at a client site and we go get lunch to eat at our desk. We get back to the office and J (the client) puts down her lunch, opens her bag (purse for you US lot) and gets out a bottle of sanitizer. She puts some in one hand, rubs both hands around and then puts the bottle in front of me. Of course while all this has taken place, I've downed half my salad, opened my coke (soda for the Americans) and got halfway to fixing her laptop at the same time. "oops" I think - v bad protocol. Not only did I not sanitize myself before eating but I've put all my germs (and potential crumbs) all over her laptop. This bottle then stares at me for the rest of my meal until she finishes, picks it up again and re-sanitizes.

Geez people - some germs are good!

I was reminded of the time I first came to America for a volunteering holiday so many moons ago. There was a whole load of Europeans and 2 Americans. All the Europeans would share their drinks so that we didn't open too many cans. Well - you should have seen the looks the Americans gave us! They thought we were mental! If you don't introduce some germs to your system - how do you think you'll be able to fight infection!

I fed my brother soil from the garden when we were younger (told him it was food...oh the power I used to have!) - and he's alright - even stopped eating the worms in recent years.... ;-)

Check this

2005-12-22T02:47:00.000-08:00

I've friends who work for Businss Integrity who've asked me to participate in an experiment. Check out their site when you get a minute

Doh - gutted...

2005-11-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

...I was hoping to finally get this down to a fine art when I next went back to the UK! Loving the statistics action tho....

How cool is this!

2005-10-30T17:38:00.000-08:00

I gotta get me one of these :-)

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/28/bluetooth_device/

ug

2005-10-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

v knackered today. went out with the boss last night. Only had one drink tho so it can't be that making me tired.....

have sneaky suspicion playing Grand Theft Auto until 1.30am may have something to do with it. should come with a health warning.....

think i may have discovered a new addiction....oh dear

must.....have....caffeine......

American Airlines - an analysis

2005-10-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

Well...here I am again on a plane - American Airlines. Officially the worst carrier I've ever flown on (at least with EasyJet the name says it all!). Can't believe BA were going to merge with these guys - it would have been the final nail in their coffin I reckon. No food (on a 5 hour flight!), communal movie (singular tense) that you have to pay for and to top it all it took 1.5 hours from arriving at the terminal to get to the gate - all of it in various queues (one of them being the "secondary security" line). Terrible. Definitely lost the will to live a few times I can tell you - especially as the "secondary security" process takes approx 6 times as long as the normal process yet they only have 1/3 the amount of resource for dealing with it (trust me - I worked it out!). And the irony of it all is that they allowed me to come on board with a empty champagne bottle - made of glass.....(you're lucky if you can get proper cutlery even on a BA business class flight - but empty glass bottles - completely fine!)

Anyway I should stop moaning really - the lack of headphones (left them in the checked baggage - Doh) is enabling me to get lots of work done (groan), and if I get bored I can contemplate the most interesting quandary of the flight so far - is my hostess a transvestite? At least the boy should be at the flat when I get in (note the lack of presence at the airport - a fact that never ceases to piss me off!... but anyway - that's another story).

I'm actually in good spirits - not that you'd know it from the comments above but I am....really!

Anyway - back to my "New features" documentation for our latest product....

You're not going to believe this...

2005-09-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Yep - its official - New Yorkers are friendly! I hate to admit it and I know my London friends will be saying its completely not genuine and its all down to the "have a nice day", pretend friendly culture, which is probably true but its nice (once in a while) to spend a train journey talking to interesting people and being nosey about their lives (as long as its not every journey and you're not tired and just want to be left alone - hell I am British, after all! ;-) Or maybe its just the wine and its actually annoying normally!. Am currently on the train to Washington DC for the weekend with the boy and shared the journey part way there (to Philadelphia) with 2 very nice girls (from "Philly") (who'd moved to NY and were on their way back home for the weekend). Love being nosey sometimes....

haven't I seen you somewhere before?

2005-09-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

am starting to wonder if we're not all that different from each other after all. I keep seeing people who look really familiar - do you think we're all based on slight variations of the same template? Or maybe I've been traveling too much recently....

Business Class - an analysis

2005-09-04T04:02:00.000-07:00

Qantas

massaging seat
fully movable chair - in all directions
l'occitaine washbag
side table on the side!
big box-thing around your head to make you feel encased
noise reduction earphones

British Airways

personal "fan"-type sturctures for screening off the person next to you
Molton Brown in the loos - yum
slightly flatter chair-bed thing
opposite facing seats to the person next to you - good for inflight - less good for landing

All in all I liked the Qantas experience better but i got more sleep on the BA flight....

Welcome Whiffs

2005-09-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

Am currently on a BA flight back from Sydney to London and the only redeeming factor over Qantas is the hand wash in the toilets - its Molten Brown!!! Gorgeous. And every time I visit the loo, I'm reminded of staying at my ex-boyfriends flat every weekend in Bow. He always used it in his bathroom and I'd never smelt it before. Its amazing the emotions it brings up. It makes me wonder if I'm abnormal in my smell to emotion ratio. Its so powerful. I've had 3 boyfriends that used Jean Paul Gaultier "Le Homme" and its no ingrained now that if I smell it while out on the pavement (sidewalk for the yanks) I'll deliberately try and walk immediately behind the person. I can get really turned on just by one whiff - how bad I that! And how good is it that

Other smells that turn me on:
hot cat (that's real cat - not pussy you filthy people!)
my deodorant (sure)
my perfume (Space NK "Soulful")
Laundromats

Smells that turn me off
dog
smoke
the boy's farts!

The Great British Cloud

2005-08-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

Am sitting in the BA Club World lounge at Heathrow terminal 4! V exciting as have never flown business before! Am definitely setting myself up for disappointment so from now on will try and pretend I'm in economy... Anyway the point of this blog is English clouds - you can't beat 'em. I travel a fair bit - especially at the moment and I have never seen such beautiful clouds as in England. I am reminded of this every time I come back here. We may be renowned for our rain and cold weather but if that means having gorgeous scenery both on land and in the sky then bring it on. I hadn't realised it was possible to miss them until I returned from a month in Sydney last year. I'd hardly had any reason to look into the sky for a month - my world became very flat - from the horizon down only and the clouds coming back was the only thing that lifted me from my depression! The best place to see them is driving along the M25 from my apartment in London to my parents house in Colchester (though obviously having to look at the road often gets in the way of appreciating a good cloud during sunset)

Oh...and apparently the Club World lounge at terminal 4 has some quite nice clouds too :-)

Of mice and men

2005-07-30T01:28:00.000-07:00

Was out with a fellow britgal this evening. We got onto the usual subject (well one of them anyway) of men. I can't decide whether its the US "heart on the sleeve wearing" way or that men in London are just crap. It seems like most of my male friends are great (although a few have had their moments at various points in the past) but pretty much every guy I've dated suffers from commitment problems (the last boy commenting "I can't understand why any man would choose to get married these days"!). Was I a different person in London or did I just attract jerks? And are they really different over here or have I just met a rarity? (and is he in fact for real?) .

What is it about men and commitment? Personally I think they are a bunch of wimps - why anyone would not want to love someone and have them love you back is barking. There is only so long you can get excitement out of your life on your own (when all your mates are paired off and doing their own thing, who are you going to tell your heroic, adventure stories to? - you can only impress grandchildren if you have some children of your own first!).

I feel like I'm ranting now and this post is turning into one of those where you wake in the morning with a hangover and think - what the hell did all that garbage mean?!!!

Going to bed with some nurofen...(which, by the way, is another thing you can't get over here!)

Language again

2005-07-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

Actually I revise my earlier statements about language. Well add to anyway - I still think you lot don't end phone calls in the same way we do. But everyday language - going to the shop/getting in a lift type language is akin to learning a foreign language at school. Its very "turn-takey" each person has a role to play and there is a certain script the players follow. We've lost it a bit in London (we'll say morning when we finally get to the office and maybe "have a nice weekend" on a Friday but other than that if we see people in the lift we don't speak to them that much and in a shop you'll be lucky if you get a "2 pound 50 please", "there you go", "here's your change", "thanks"-type conversation - a whole lot of it is carried on with no speaking. Its a bit sad really - especially if you live alone and these are the only times you get to speak to people - its a wonder we don't all forget what our voices sound like! I'm sure its different in the country or somewhere with a community feel but where I come from its more of a novelty than a reality.

Back to Boston

2005-07-25T17:11:00.000-07:00

Have been traveling about a bit recently, Vermont last week, Boston this week. Is great to get out of the city and realise that actually there's still a lot of fields and areas that aren't so built up. I wonder how much of the humidity in the city is due to not being able to see sky. Think living in Times Square is getting to me a bit - starting to feel fenced in. Bought a map of the states on the way to the train - is great to finally be able to see where Vermont is....

....Ooooo.....Had forgotten what a great train ride this is - am constantly passing reservoir and lakes and the sun is getting low in the sky - there's some really pretty countryside to be had in this vast country!

The weekend - upstate stylee

2005-07-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

Took a trip "Upstate" this weekend (actually only just over an hour out of Manhattan on a bus - but it still counts as "upstate" in my book!) with the boy (no it doesn't count as a mini-break (cf Bridget Jones 2003) - we were going to see friends). Got off in a little village (by US standards not ours :-) and then walked down a dirt-track until we were surrounded by trees and "nature" (not too keen on this bit as the boy had already teased me greatly about the dangers of ticks:- "sometimes when you pull them their heads get stuck in you and then you have to burn them off you" and then John chimed in:- "I've had one stuck in my balls before" Gross).

Anyway, we rounded the corner onto his drive and there was a huge deer! Antlers and everything - that's what I call nature :-) Turned out to be a great evening - we ate BBQ sausages and watched Space Balls (highly recommended - v funny). Then the next day (after ensuring there were no ticks in the bed and the Boy had diligently killed all winged items I could see on the walls) we got the canoe out on the lake (yes they have a lake in their 2 acre garden!), played some table-tennis, prodded the huge frogs with pieces of grass and helped reuse shingle from bits of wall they'd removed - was great manual labour and made me feel very manly! Got back in town just in time to get a late mani-pedi, have a shower, don the war-paint, small shoes and smaller skirt and join my more urban friends' house party in Alphabet City. What more could a gal want from a weekend?!

morbid curiosity?

2005-07-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

that's certainly what I thought while watching the twin towers come down on TV in the pub next to my workplace in London. "Why am I watching this?" I thought to myself. But I couldn't tear myself away - and neither could anyone else in the pub - the scenes turned our stomach but we had to see more.

Today is different, I can't turn the TV off because I want to feel close to my home town, colleagues and friends. I feel so removed with the miles and the time difference between us. While the TV is on I feel I am connected to my fellow Brits, my old workplace and the people close to me. And so I am "working" from home with the TV on, trying to make sure everyone is ok. Thank God for the miracle of the text message...

Bookshops - don't you just love 'em!

2005-06-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

I could spend hours in them (and frequently have done). Its about as dangerous for me as Prada is to Carrie Bradshaw! Have just spent god knows how long in Borders in Santana Row, San Jose. Disturbingly, on the 3 for 2 non-fiction counter I'd actually read 5 (yes count them - 5!) books. That never happens - is the USA behind England? Will have to investigate further back in NY next week methinks....

Actually went in to buy this month's Conde Naste Traveller - there's a whole section on Baha - v interesting, but more interesting is the feature on Brooklyn! All v favourable - can't wait to get back to New York and try out some of the areas - can't believe I haven't even been to prospect park yet! Note to self - try and spend less time in Manhattan and get out more (especially with Boy living in Williamsburg!)

Was in Los Angeles last week and then spent the weekend driving from there to San Jose. Took in Santa Barbara, Cambria, Morro Bay, Santa Cruz and Hearst castle on the way. The latter being an amazing place - really beautiful and a very moving story of its origins. Kind of went into a daydream by the Greek styled pool about having my wedding there. How cool would that be? We could all swim afterwards (me in the most fancy white swimming costume you can imagine, of course) and eat grapes and swan about like the movie stars who used to frequent it - it even has its own cinema for evenings in!. Was a great weekend (despite being with the boss and his wife all the way!). Am now in San Jose till wed and then San Francisco till fri when I go back to New York (can't wait to see my boy - have missed him! :-)

Currently have an amazing room at the Valencia at Santana Row - is Japanese in style and has lots of dark wood in the room and a chocolate fur throw thing on the bed. Tried the outdoor pool and really warm jacuzzi - was like a bath - it was great!

The weekend - in London style dahling

2005-06-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

Had The Boy over in London! Was great. Dragged him around a bit too much though - we walked for miles (jetlag? pah!). Was legitimised as total London-gal when randomly walking through Covent Garden and my name is called out! Turns out G works nearby and was having after work drinks. Would have been rude not to show the boy how drinking (and smoking inside buildings!) works in London :-)

Think he was just pleased to rest his legs (and work on his arm muscles instead ;-)

Ug

2005-06-08T16:49:00.000-07:00

So....have been back in the UK less than 24 hours and already I've got hayfever (allergies to you US peeps). Had forgotten how awful this time of year can be sometimes (and expensive with all the drugs needed to keep it at bay!)

Having said that though I've spent the afternoon going through my (mountains of) post on the balcony in the sunshine! Nearly got burnt it was so hot. Just what I needed to re-bond with London again

Actually speaking of which I was nearly bowled over on my way home from Heathrow last night when someone actually initiated a conversation with me on the tube! That never happens in London unless its the last train home and everyone is pissed! Turns out there was another explanation for this guy - he was Australian! Still we had a very nice conversation all the way to his stop and made me feel like maybe there's hope for a more friendly, less stiff London yet (even if it has to start with the behaviour of foreigners first!)

Great British Slang

2005-05-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

The boy has informed me he can't understand most of the words I say so has to store them all up and then log on to http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/ to find out what I mean! Bless

Don't worry - I'll learn 'im how to speak proper!

Yippeee

2005-04-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

Have just been told I'm coming back for a few more weeks in June! (trying not to get excited about being able to see The Boy some more!)

Grits - an analysis - 27/4/05

2005-04-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Location and Sample:
Law-firm client
In house restaurent-made grits with porridge (oatmeal here)
Mouthfuls so far:
5-10 very cautious ones

Plus points:
Doesn't taste like sand
Hot
No chewing required - useful for false teeth owners
Negatives:
Bland
Texture only has novelty value

Overall Conclusions:
Think I'll be sticking to special K in the future but at least I can now tick the "I've had grits" box :-)

what am i doing?

2005-04-26T00:29:00.000-07:00

Bollocks - I just completely freaked myself out by asking The Boy back for 'coffee'. I got so caught up in the way he was looking at me and forgot myself. Definitely wasn't the right time - and after I went through the whole shaving ritual before I left the apartment as well ("just in case", you understand...!). Will have to wait ages for a wax now - doh. Really fancy him tho, is complete bugger. For now he fancies me too - and beginning to believe him. Still makes it scary - especially as I can't imagine it lasting (with anyone actually - is product of our times). Can't believe I got so freaked out. I had to leave him there completely bewildered on the street. Hopefully I didn't look like I'd completely lost it but probably came across slightly weird! oh well....will have to get over myself and dive on in I guess. Am normally quite good at switching the brain off but I guess the running away thing is more of a survival instinct than I thought...

Loft Party

2005-04-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

Got invited to a loft party this weekend (as you do!). Well...would have been rude not to go so I forced another British mate to don her best glad-rags and accompany me. My word - what a place - I have never seen so many plastic people - I thought I was in LA! The women were gorgeous and either overly coiffed, overly dressed up or very grungy looking. It looked exactly like a scene from SATC (apart from we weren't quite gorgeous enough). I always feel I stand out like a sore thumb at these places - I can do "very casual", "business casual" and "formal" but anywhere in between and I'm at fashion sea! Was great though and the "apartment" was gorgeous - loads of space with a huge kitchen (think it was used for entertainment purposes only in reality - like a show home, but still!)

Current Addiction

2005-04-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

When I came out here it was as harmless as having the Scissor Sisters on continuous play on my MP3 player. Unfortunately my current addiction is sesame chicken. Sold in deli bars all over New York and is one right outside my building. Gorgeous... Can't be good for you tho. Will be size of house when I leave!

The weekend - New York stlyee

2005-04-18T23:42:00.000-07:00

So had the dreaded first day at new client today. Went well but long.

Did have a great weekend though. Was invited to a "cook-out" (think its is a Southern term for bbq) on a friend of my gay mates' roof in Williamsburg this weekend. Feel like a right local now with me local mates :-) We were slightly over-optimistic with the weather but at least it was sunny and its important to do these things early and encourage the sun to show more appearances (an easy form of sun-god worship - never know - it might work!). We watched a great sunset back over the Manhattan skyline (I was mesmerised) and then "hung-out" (general term for shooting a breeze) back in the apartment.

Then Sunday I did the Nike "Run for the Parks" (4 miles) in 32.52. Considering it was hot and hilly and I'm quite unfit I was pleased with that.

Most exciting of all - I came home after business dinner this evening to a message from "a boy" (as he put it!) (he being the new friend of the weekend sunset fame) for a dinner request! Especially since I assumed he was gay and was quite gutted at the time cos I fancied the pants off him. I danced around the flat and replayed his message 3 times! Am mental - is official

Am giving my first ever (external) training session tomorrow - am actually quite nervous - I always think I'll grow out of feeling scared but I guess it would be a bad day if that did ever happen - I'd have run out of new experiences to have!

Ho hum...should really go to bed early but trying to re-jig the diary to see The Boy! Haven't fancied a date this much in ages....

never can say goodbye

2005-04-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

Telephone etiquette...

Very complicated in a country that speaks the same language as me. Do you say goodbye or not? We always do in the UK (some even draw out goodbyes with "you put the phone down, no you, no you first! etc etc ad nauseum - mostly for hideous smug married types). Have had 2 friends practically put the phone down on me (it felt like). It was only when watching an episode of SATC that I realised that you don't really say 'bye that much over here. The conversation ends and the phone gets put down. Very strange.

NIMBY (surely?!)

2005-04-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning to screaming people outside - not, this time, for me ;-) but in fact for Mariah Carey who was performing at the end of my road! I hung out of my 9th floor window and listened in - best seats in the house. Think its going to be interesting living here!

Boston - small town feel, big city activities!

2005-04-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

Just come back from a great weekend in Boston. Its amazing how everything looks better when the sun is shining and there is sand underfoot (don't ask me why - there's no beach that I found!)

Stayed in the YWCA.... v interesting place - it seems you can stay there medium-long term and some people have - complete with drips they walk around with (I kid you not - real hospital drips on walking-frame things!).

Anyway, took a trolley tour and walked the freedom trail (lots about battling the British - I tried to keep my mouth closed - and therefore my accent hidden!). Harvard and the MIT are also located here. In fact in was while at the MIT grounds that John (camp guy from the gay bar last weekend) phoned for brunch! How exciting - maybe I'll get my very own gay guy after all! (even Charlotte had one!)

Really liked Boston - has a great atmosphere about it - was awful battling the Midtown suits at 8am this morning (I got the 5am train back - ug!)

Things I won't miss about New York

2005-04-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

1 ply toilet paper - you're a first world country for Pete's sake!
huge portions - (never any variety on the kids menu)
standing all over the escalators - STAND ON THE RIGHT so late people (ie me) can run past you

And those I will miss

running in central park
friendliness(? still unsure as to sincerity tho...)
cable TV :-)
exchange rate!

Email and a tan

2005-04-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

oooo - just found out Bryant Park has free wireless internet - v nice and round the courner from my apartment. Will definately be spending a lot of time there when the weather warms up!

got the runs...

2005-04-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

wooooowwwww. have just returned from running in Central Park with the new york running club. I feel soo exhilarated. The sun was setting and it was really warm - too hot for my long-sleeve running top actually. We did 3.6 miles in 30 mins which is quite good for me. Makes a definite change from the flat Clapham Common - my usual running haunt. The scenery was beautiful - I think I'm going to like it here!

burthday? wot birthday?

2005-03-31T14:42:00.000-08:00

ug. Am suffering one of the worst hanogvers of my live (so much so I've only made it as far as the sofa, so far today). My friends tell me I had a good time (much of it I can't remember and have spent most of the day saying "nooooo really? then what did i do?"). Very dangerous - leaves myself open to all sorts of character abuse by my "friends". Ended up being one of those random nights; ending up in a random (gay) bar (not the one we were aiming for), meeting great (camp-as-you-like) randoms. Definitely a quality night (and that's just the bits I can remember).

Where are the SATC shoes?

2005-03-26T23:03:00.000-08:00

Gutted. Went to Century 21 today. As recommended by the boss' son and recently seen (recent to me anyway) on Sex and the City. Touted as "New York best kept secret" and long may it be kept a secret! A glorified charity shop in layout (the merchandising I believe is new) , with "designer labels" apparently at every turn, the materials and patters were at best old-fashioned and at worst downright dodgy. In about 5 floors of clothes I picked up 2 shirts! Very bad shopping experience - even by my standards.

I moved onto shoes - confident that even bad shoes in New York had to be classy surely. But no. Could barely find any I wanted to try on let alone buy. Desperately want some new trainers (sneakers here) and maybe a pair of salsa shoes but they're all awful. Surely I don't have to go back to London to get decent shoes - the outrage!

Saintly acting

2005-03-25T10:39:00.000-08:00

I've found great church! Its called St Malachy's - The Actors Chapel interestingly enough and does a lot to support the acting community around theatre district.

It also means the singing is great. I love singing at mass! Its small-ish too so the atmosphere is really friendly.

In the words of a small, ginger singer with a slightly annoying voice: "I think I'm gonna like it here"

Oh...my...word!

2005-03-25T01:04:00.000-08:00

Got invited to a members-only club on the top floor of a building off 6th Ave tonight. It was great. You enter a completely unmarked building with businesslike lobby and reception. You then have to name drop to prove you know a member and if you drop the correct name they show you to the bank of high-speed lifts. Exiting on the 39th floor, they have leather chairs facing the windows looking downtown to the Empire State building and beyond. Picked my way through the other members engaged in various business discussions about percentages and buy-in. New York was beautiful from there. I met the others (all men, all smoking cigars!) in time for dessert. Took slightly too long to decide on the wine so my host asked the waiter to bring all 3 so I could taste them all! Very nice indeed. How the other half lives!

Smelling of roses

2005-03-23T23:17:00.000-08:00

I'm loving the no smoking laws here - its great. So far have been to several bars and restaurants and have been able to go to bed without a shower to get the smell out of my hair! When are they going to implement this in London?

Tonight I went to LQ, for the salsa night. Was slightly apprehensive about the possibility of adjusting to dancing "on 2" but actually there was quite a bit of normal "on 1" dancing going on and I got asked to dance a couple of times and didn't fall flat on my face so think that's definitely a winner for a Wednesday nights :-) They also had a traditional salsa band which was great - something we don't get that often in London salsa clubs

Ground Zero

2005-03-19T10:52:00.000-08:00

A potential client has their office downtown and allowed us up to the 46th floor to take a look form up there. The view was stunning - the sun was shining, liberty island looked great and ground zero was right below us. It looked ok from up there - like a building site but ok. We decided to take a look at ground level and (probably it was the lack of sleep) but I was very moved by it. They've left one of the girders up and its in the shape of a cross and a busker was playing Amazing Grace on the flute - had to turn away and sneak a few tears out of site of the boss.

Other great views of the city:

From the 25th Floor of a client in Times Square (taxi's lined up on Broadway, central park in the distance, the video screens in full glory)
Very trendy cafeteria of a prospective client, with funky colours and light installations, free breakfast and screens in the meeting rooms to instantly book them out and check your email from
From the window of a train coming back into Manhattan from Yorktown Heights. The Hudson is so wide it looks like sea and the sunset over the hills looks amazing in the distance

To be sure

2005-03-17T21:43:00.000-08:00

I missed the St Patrick's day parade today - too busy with meetings :-(

Just think of all the young, gorgeous, catholic opportunities missed!

I've arrrived!

2005-03-15T23:25:00.000-08:00

I have a garbage chute! I noticed it this morning.

Other ways to know you are in New York:
yellow cabs
steaming pavements
huuuuugggeeeee portions of everything (tinned foods, tampon packets, body wash - everything)

Ug

2005-03-14T07:14:00.000-08:00

So sirens and horns going off until 1.30am this morning, had a fax machine ring me at 5.30am and then donked my head really hard on the ceiling trying to get back into bed (am in a temporary studio and the bed is in the ceiling space - I can't even stand straight up there and I'm little).

Have to meet the boss at 8am for breakfast. Wonder if he'd mind if I snoozed over my croissant...

Same but Different

2005-03-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

So...odd thing happened today. I was having lunch in the cafe of a bookstore (v good idea that - read and eat...and read and drink and more reading - before you know it you've been there for hours!). Anyway - I got hit on by some old bloke! It started off fine; we were marvelling over how hot the sun was, then we moved onto the Olympics - both London and New York bidding for 2012 and then I got up to leave and he asked if he could see me again. All very strange - definitely wouldn't happen in London!

And then I got to thinking....Lots of things over here are the same - the clothes, the furniture, the bars, the language (well mostly: "periods" are completely different in the UK and we go to the toilet not the "restroom"). Its easy to forget that all countries have different cultures so when something different does happen it takes you by surprise and makes you feel slightly disorientated. London is notorious for its lack of eye-contact, insular, unfriendly culture - no-one looks at each other on the tube, women get assaulted and are surprised if anyone comes to their rescue. In the UK the Americans are made fun of because of their fake "have a nice day" catchphrases and the wearing of their heart on their sleeves a la Jerry Springer but I'm now wondering if actually some of you mean it when you wish me a nice day. Its nice catching people's eye on the subway and sharing the occasional smile. Humans are social beings - its why babies respond to smiling faces. Who would have thought that New York would be a more friendly place than London?

As long as I don't get hit on by creeps too often...unless they're young, fit and rich!

Decisions, Decisions

2005-03-11T15:15:00.000-08:00

I'm not very good at making decisions unless they're really easy...like....um....

work or sleep (sleep)
work or clubbing (clubbing)
work or have no money (work)

but anything slightly harder than this I have a bit of trouble with. Apartments for example. Do I take the bright, expensive one with manly furniture on 3rd (a bit far to walk home to after a night out) or the cheaper one that feels more me but is right near Times Square....I tried asking the advice of a traffic cop but I think he thought I was trying to pick him up! oops

Don't exactly have much time - only booked 2 nights in the hotel and am homeless tomorrow night unless I can sort something out!

Got the horn?

2005-03-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

Blimey - you New Yorkers are mental! I've never heard such "bibbing" in my life (or I guess you would say honking!)

Have just been placed in Manhattan for 3 months by my company and arrived from London today. I've been here twice before but don't remember the near-continuous honking you guys do over here. I reckon its the taxi's myself. At least that's the same in every country - taxi drivers thinking they know how to drive better than anyone else.

Anyway - I'm going to stop moaning and try and stay awake for a bit longer.

Watch out Big - I'm here now!