Fun and frolics by the river

This weekend I have spent a lot of time by the river (when I say weekend, I mean thursday - tuesday). I never realised how river-centric London is. But yes, it is, and yes, I spent a lot of time in close proximity to the old Thames.

Last wednesday was my brother's graduation. It was really nice to see where he's been at uni for the last three years (I am a bad sister and haven't ever visited). I felt really proud of him, he's worked hard and deserves his degree - and the place on his Masters course. He's going to have his own office, how cool is that. I don't even have my own office at my work (though I do have a jemima puddleduck toy and a cactus, so you know, I'm kind of a winner too). The whole family - well, immediate family - was there and we wandered about the campus, went to the CS department drinks, then went out for dinner. It was a really nice day.

On thursday morning C arrived! I hadn't seen him since 1998. He hadn't changed, except he was more grown up (of course!) and it was nicer as we didn't fight like we used to when we were 10 (again, of course). I have known C for all my life, as our families have known each other for 3 generations. He's Parisian and a year older than me, and we used to see each other twice a year - when he would come to stay at ours, and when I would go to France. My parents went to stay with them last summer and we realised how stupid it was that C and I haven't kept in touch. So he came to stay, and it was really cool! I picked him up from Waterloo and we went back to mine and talked the hind legs of several donkeys. In the evening J arrived and we immediately went off to meet #1 at the pub... My god I was so nervous. I am such a nervous wreck sometimes. I think I usually hide it quite well, but I am a lot happier when I don't need to organise stuff (social stuff, not work type stuff - I have no problem with that) and I can just go along with whatever is happening. That sounds really lame, but I just fret too much otherwise. Especially when it's something as potentially scary as J and #1 meeting for the first time!

Anyway, thursday was nice, just went to the Commercial, had dinner and then went back to the Comm. On friday we got up quite late to witness what seemed like a monsoon. I didn't think it would ever stop, but it did, so we went off into town to go to the Tate Modern and to Borough Market. On saturday we went to Soho, Chinatown etc, and then went to see the Transformers movie! It was good, but incredibly cheesy. I didn't really remember all that much about Transformers from when I was a kid, but it's not that hard to get to grips with. Afterwards we drank wine at the Ritzy Bar and J made origami birds out of tiny bits of paper. J is just too lovely. He's made me an origami panda. Sunday was spent first of all having a proper full english breakfast, and then at the Antony Gormley exhibition, then yet more wandering by the river. Antony Gormley was really good actually - I'd heard so many good things about it, and obviously seen the (quite scary) figures all over Waterloo. D had tried to explain the main exhibit (Blind Light) to me, but words can't really do it justice, as it's a bit like being in another world, like how it would be in the afterlife if your life was quite a cliched film. That doesn't do it justice either. Just go and see it. On monday J had to go home, because he hadn't taken a week off work like I had! C and I went to the Design Museum, and then met M for lunch. She's just been to Paris and ate snails, which completely defeated C's argument that french people didn't eat snails and frogs legs all the time. Today we took a boat to Greenwich, and the coolest thing happened - we had stopped at Tower Bridge, and a really old boat pulled out into the middle of the water. Our boat then followed, and as we were in the middle of the river, Tower Bridge opened, and the old boat sailed through - it was amazing! In all the time I've been in London, I've never seen it open, and then to see it from the middle of the river was just so cool. We spent the afternoon in Greenwich, the Docklands and Covent Garden, before C got the eurostar back to Paris, I came home and now I feel quite lonely.

This is a really crap entry. I rubbed onion in my eyes. I got bleach all over my feet accidentally so the skin will probably all fall off again. I miss J. I wish I didn't have to write my dissertation, especially as I have huge library fines AGAIN. Must remember to return books. Tomorrow I have to go back to work and JOY OF JOYS I have training all day, what a welcome.

I'm really really happy actually, despite all of that. J is just so great, he makes me very very happy. Even when I'm sad, if that makes sense.

I really need to go and wash my eyes. I don't want conjunctivitis AGAIN.

Good news!

I have good news, but I'm keeping quiet for now.

Oh come on, you'd hate it if I was anything other than my normal evasive self.

Suffolk

What an amazing weekend. Really, it was the greatest weekend. I left work at 6 and went to Cambridge where the lovely J met me at the station and we drove to Suffolk. Even the drive was fun as I was J let me indicate. We were staying in a house right by the coast, about five minutes drive up a track and through a forest from the nearest village. The house itself is about 600 years old and doesn't have electricity. There is a solar panel on the roof to run some things, and there was a generator until it broke. This meant using candles or torches to see, which was pretty cool. We bagged one of the double rooms, directly above the kitchen (a bad move, as it turned out) and went to have a beer. It was probably about this point that the first mosquito bit me, but who can say for sure. Over the weekend I was bitten approximately a million times. I'm not exaggerating. Here is a photo of my legs. Imagine that all over my body. It is itchy like fuck.

On Saturday we went to the beach, which was only a five minute walk across the marshes. It’s a shingle beach but still very nice. The water was freezing, so I only went in up to my knees but J was more brave/hardy/insane and went for a proper swim, barring when he dived into a mudflat. Other things included playing cricket (not me), playing golf (not me), playing Frisbee (not me), being really shit at Frisbee (me) and reading books that everyone took the piss out of (me). In the evening we had a fire. J built it and F hit it with a big stick and watched the sparks. A lot. It was all really fun, the countryside is awesome. J and I looked at stars and a bat flew overhead. When it gets dark it’s really dark, darker than it ever is in Pidley. It would have all been nothing without J though. I feel very happy inside (my outsides are too bitten to be happy) and I really feel so lucky to have him, he’s just so lovely. Even if he admitted that he likes to eat giblets.

This morning I came back to London (no thanks to the fucking trains though) and went to work, where there was considerable amounts of muppetry and probably not enough tea drunk. I was very tired and itchy. At lunchtime I licked my outer shin just to prove that I could.

Actually that reminds me – I have to have an operation on my hip. I am having keyhole surgery. How exciting. #1 is going to look after me, but I am going to try and be a good patient, but I have limited patience so it may go awry. When they told me about the operation (on Thursday) my initial thought was something along the lines of panic panic crap crap but I have since decided that it’s okay. I’ve never had an operation but if my little brother could have his face put back together when he was 4, then I can have this operation.

I miss J already. This evening I have spent a considerable amount of time listening to music that reminds me of him. #1 came in and told me that I am emo. So we sang some Johnny Cash together and it was all good, until I started boring her with more stories again, haha.

I think my computer is broken. If either of my brothers reads this, can they come and fix it please? I think it is the fan. And the screen is fucked, it’s flashing more than the 2012 logo.

Going to Warwick on Wednesday. J is coming to London on Thursday. Good week. Great weekend.

Some observations

1. Carrying a rucksack is strangely satisfying, though it's better if it's empty. Must remember that just because the rucksack carries 25 litres worth of books, I shouldn't necessarily try and carry that many. Is quite heavy.

2. I'm really not squeamish. I had no problems with taping up this guy at work's arm, even though it was quite bloodied and skank.

3. I am perhaps more squeamish than I think, as I nearly threw up at the hospital today when they said I had to have surgery. But only momentarily. Also, I felt a bit guilty because everyone else in the orthopaedic surgery was old and quite crippled, and all the doctors were looking at me like "You fraud, get out! You're traipsing around with cowboy boots on when these poor bastards can hardly walk!"

4. The plastic gloves they give you when you dye your hair are a complete waste of space and it is far easier not to use them.

5. I am overly excited about this weekend. Really, really, overly excited. But in a good way. Hence being awake at 1am ON A SCHOOL NIGHT. Ha, I don't care, I am happy like you don't even believe.

About me: I am spending too much time on F1 forums and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

Okay, it's never a good idea to write about work, but today has been a really weird day. I was in a foul mood at work yesterday (something that did not go unnoticed by MB, who thought I looked homicidal) because I'm just not happy there, and also I was bored as everyone was away, and also I was missing J (already- I'm so sad!!). Anyway, I need to think about my career and decide what I'm doing, and I will do that after my dissertation is done. In the meantime, I am just going to make the most of a bad situation and enjoy spending time with some nice people, which there are in the office, thankfully - I am very lucky in that way and should stop complaining.

BUT (and you knew there would be a but) - it turns out that I am evil incarnate and a complete cunt. Or at least that I have caused a rift in the team. I really didn't mean to, I really didn't think I was doing anything that wrong. But now I feel I should have stayed quiet and not voiced my opinions at all. From now on I will be known as Subdued Stinkbat and I won't create any trouble, apart from when I next hurt my toe by getting it stuck under the filing cabinet.

I was going to write something else but it's far too protracted and boring, and perhaps too much of a misery fest even for me (I'm such an emo). Especially as I'm not really unhappy generally, I'd say I'm quite content, just a bit pre-occupied about the dissertation. And by J, of course, but in a completely different (and much nicer) way.

Today I spent a while talking to my brother about gym techniques and I have realised how unfit I am. I should really go back to the gym and stop eating ice cream - at least I didn't take a tub of Ben and Jerry's to the pub with me!!!!!

Booo everyone is crap and bailed on me so I'm not going to see The Mules after all. JY is in Krygyzstan, which is at least a valid excuse, but everyone else is rubbish. Still, they're playing again next week, so I will properly guilt trip everyone into coming this time.

I am drinking beer from the keg. It's a small consolation prize. Booooo.

Oh yeah and BOOOOOOOO I'm not going to the office summer party because it's my little brother's graduation. Aren't I nice? Though surely, (copious alcohol) + (a boat) = a recipe for disaster?? I don't wanna go swimming.

I've got hair like a carpet, apparently

Tempting as it is to write that this weekend was shit, if only to spite J, my weekend was actuallly pretty awesome. No, not pretty awesome. Completely amazing. Me and J are now officially going out. It's on facebook and everything so it must be true!! I am so smitten. On Friday I was really anxious and nearly "did a Kevin" (ie throw up with nerves), and the train ride seemed like the loooooooooooooooooooooongest ever, almost as if we were going via the Shetlands or something, but it was all good. I came back to London this morning and already I miss him.

Work today, however, was a pile of horseshit. On Friday the sales manager gave me a new project to do, and made it sound like it was a reward for being so great at my job. I don't think I have ever been so bored in my life. The office was really quiet, which didn't help. My team was super quiet. I do miss the good old days, with K and mofo. Big drama happened last week, with the quietest member of our team going all out and saying the company was crap and getting angry about being called a liar (too fucking right). There was no drama today at all, except for an employment law training thing we all had to go on. It seems that anything you do or say can be construed as harrassment. Especially most of the stuff that gets said at lunchtime. Or anything RC says any of the time. Particularly that comment about my parents the other day. Still, only another 3 days at work this week, as I've got wednesday off.

I'm meant to be going out to see The Mules tonight but I have now got home and put on my really comfy jeans and eaten a bowl of spinach, rosemary and rice (don't ask, I can't be bothered to go shopping). And there is a KEG of beer in the fridge, oh yes. I am tempted to stay in and drink beer and do sensible things like my laundry and google imaging pictures of pandas. Maybe I will put some socks on and I will feel more in the mood?

Quote of the day comes from MB, who said that she liked the ginger/apricot bit in my hair because: "It looks good next to the rest of my hair, it looks quite natural.... if you had naturally white hair and black roots..."

Quote of the day does NOT come from me, as I said possibly the most inappropriate thing possible on the train home after work. I also said "cunt" repeatedly because I'm a real charmer like that.

I'm going to Suffolk at the weekend. I am so stealing #1's wellies.

Miaow.

mansions drama

Anyone who's been reading this for a while will know about the situation in my flat. I love my flat, it's beautiful and on the whole, I've enjoyed every minute I've lived here, which is nearly two years now. I live with three other girls - #1, #2 and #5. When I first moved in there was #3, but she moved out to go and live with her boyfriend. Then there was #4, but he was a rapist, so he had to go (and I'm not exaggerating). Then #5 moved in, and it's taken time and effort, as we're very dissimilar, but we now get along great. #1 is my best friend, not only in the flat but also in the world. So you could say that I am very lucky to live with two people, #1 and #5, who are just lovely.

But that leaves #2. There was the whole saga last year when she got a boyfriend and started speaking to us all, and then split up with him, and stopped speaking to us. She hasn't spoken to any of us in MONTHS. She didn't even say happy birthday to #1 the other day. She's a very, very selfish person. It used to bother me that she acted as if she didn't like me, but after talking to lots of people, I realised that she didn't like me, but simply because I represent a) many things about herself that she doesn't like, b) many things she is jealous of, and c) just someone she doesn't have anything in common with anyway. I am fine with this - not everyone will like everyone else, and if it was all civil, it would be great.

However. It's not been civil lately. When she went on holiday for a week I was actually very happy, as any conversation we have is forced to the point of absurdity. Tonight we all got together and talked about this and she LIED. Her body posture made it so obvious that she wants nothing to do with us, and yet she said she was happy living with us and liked us all. I caught her out on one lie she'd told (about moving out), yet she still flat out denies lying. I know I probably didn't do it in the best way, and yes, I swore, which I shouldn't have, but I don't understand why this situation has to continue. I'm a reasonably easy going person (ie I keep my freakouts to myself, so I seem easy going!), I'm quite fun... I'm not saying we have to be best friends, but it would be nice to live with someone who doesn't view me with disdain.

This probably seems very trivial to anyone else, but it's my house, and these people are like my family in London. Me, #1 and #5 share everything (to a point that is a little extreme perhaps!!), and they are the people I would turn to first for anything. Is this wrong? That's what you'd do with a family, and that's what they are to me.

I feel a bit better now. I was quite angry and shaken earlier.

I wish it was Friday already. I am looking forward to this weekend SO MUCH you don't believe. Two weeks has seemed so long.