Merry (Belated) Christmas

Hi friends, I'm back!
Where have I been, well I've been around, I've just been busy.

Christmas was just the other day and it was my first Christmas not being home in Massachusetts.  This year, due to financial issues, I spent Christmas in London.  Before Tom left for home he and I had Christmas at the flat.  We made dinner and opened presents while listening to Michael Buble sing to us.  Tom really spoiled me which gifts but the piece de resistance was when I opened a book on Paris style and inside was a EuroStar voucher for me to go to Paris.  He knows I have been trying to go to Paris for over a year now but haven't been able to afford it and now he had made it possible! What an amazing flatmate!!!

For actual Christmas, my old NYC roommate, Caroline, came over on Christmas Eve and we spent the night eating, chatting and practically falling asleep on the sofa at 9:30pm...we're so rock and roll!
On Christmas day, we woke up, had a small breakfast and opened presents over coffee.  Caroline was very generous giving me a bunch of bits and bobs but one was my favourite lip balm ever...Fresh Sugar.  At 11am we headed to a friends place in Chelsea for pre-lunch drinks and for lunch we had a very British Christmas meal with goose, roasted veggies and stuffing with Christmas cake and brandy butter for pudding. After sufficiently stuffing ourselves we walked back to Battersea and called home to speak to our families.  We then spent the rest of the night curled up under blankets on the sofa watching Harry Potter.

Yesterday, Boxing Day, Caroline made a delicious french toast breakfast and we sat around in our pajamas for a while.  We decided to take a short walk in the park before she headed back to her flat and I spend the rest of the day just doing some housework and trying to finish the scarf I am knitting for Tom.

It was a very nontraditional Christmas this year, but it was nice.  Of course I missed being home and getting woken up super early by my nephews who are beside themselves with the excitement of Santa having come.  And I did miss the full Christmas dinner that we always have, but all in all it was a lovely Christmas and I'm happy to have spent it with friends.

On Thursday morning I am off for a few days as I am going to Cornwall for New Year with friends. We rented a cottage and I am really looking forward to a fun filled 4 days away.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and on that I will leave you with a photo of our tree. Her name is Sandra Sharon (don't ask about the 2 names) and she is beautiful!

Taking Life For Granted

I got some really sad news yesterday, a friend of mine from my days at the University of Hartford passed away suddenly.  Tara was such a beautiful and kind hearted person. She never had anything bad to say about someone, she always had a smile on her face and she was always upbeat and positive.  My heart aches for her, her husband, her family and her unborn baby boy. The world lost a good one yesterday!   

Tara was part of a very defining moment of my life.  She was one of the seven drama kids who came to London in the Summer of 1999 to study.  It was a life changing trip for me as I'm sure it was for the other six teenagers and early twentysomethings.  That trip was what made me want to move here.  My head has been spinning since I found out about her yesterday afternoon.  I keep replaying moments times we spent together and I can't believe she is gone.  Over the last 10 years she and I have only really chatted via facebook and the occasional email but I am absolutely devastated.  She was only 32, been married for a short amount of time, expecting her first baby in February and now she is gone. 

Tom met me after work and we sat in Pret talking and I had a million and one questions going through my head and none of them will ever be answered. And I keep trying to figure out what can be learned and taken from this? The only thing I've got is...tell your friends and family you love them every day, don't think about what you could be doing next year, next month or next week even, just live your life each day and think fondly of the people who've come into your life they all have something to teach you. 

Here are a few photos from my London trip in 1999...

RIP Tara. You will always be loved and never forgotten.

It's What Gets Me Through the Day

As you may have read yesterday, life behind my work desk isn't all that exciting.  However, there are some things that aren't so bad.  For instance, I get to blog while I am not doing anything at work. Or I can Google Chat with friends in the States. I can text my friends while at work. But one of the things that get me through my days at this desk...my friend Owen.  Ladies and gentlemen, by no means have I been bullied by Owen Thomas into writing this post. By no means has he sent me emails saying I "post mildly insulting comments(that’s right I took it personally)" I am writing this post dedicated to Owen solely on my own accord.  And why wouldn't now?  Owen passes me at my desk on his way to the shop and asks if I would like anything.  Now I don't want to take advantage of him, but he practically forces me to let him buy me coffee or chocolate.  Today, he popped to the shop and brought me back this...

Honestly, how good is he! 

Its these little things that get me through my day behind this desk.

Owen...this one is for you!
Oh, and I forgot to mention...I'm Owens pimp for the single ladies out there.

A Day in the Life

This is my daily view....

Actually this is my view for half the day. The other half of the day I am in the dungeon, its a room with one window that overlooks and alley and a building and I see the same 5-10 people over and over again.  That is the life of being a receptionist at my place of business.  Its pretty boring.  I answer calls, push a button to open the door and sit on Gmail, Facebook and Blogger all day long.  Sometimes I read, if I'm in the dungeon. 

This is probably the only thing that really sucks about London right now.  Yes, I am lucky to have a job and believe me I know, but some days it really puts a damper on my mood.  Ah, onwards and upwards right? I will eventually get that dream job that I'm always hoping for.  I know I will :) 

What I've Been Up To

I've been MIA again, I'm sorry. I haven't really been up to a hell of a lot, its just that I feel like I haven't done anything so exciting to post about. However, I have been playing with my camera quite a bit. I bought myself a beautiful Nikon D90 a few years back after seeing what my friend Barrie could do with it. I didn't quite play with it very much in the first year, but I have played with it over this past year.  I'm no pro, I'm very much a novice photographer, but I have been pretty pleased with someone of the photos I have taken with it.

Happy Belated Birthday To Me

I know I'm really a bit late to post this but it happens...

On the 1st of August I celebrated my 33rd birthday.  I didn't have any qualms about turning 33, I guess when "they" say that once you hit 30, you stop caring.  Well, 33 came and I rang it in with style!  I had quite a memorable birthday due to some cheeky planning by my flatmate.

My great day began when I woke up to drawing on the mirror in the hallway.

Then two dear friends of mine (Caroline and Laura) had given me gift cards to Zara to purchase this dress I had been lusting after so the weekend before my birthday I got the dress and planned to wear it on my day.  Its a beautiful, bright orange, tennis-ish dress that made me stand out and makes me very happy as my friends knew how much I wanted this dress, but couldn't work it into my budget.

After work I met up with Tom who had given me a choice of three options the week before.  The options were, comedy, a musical or a classic film.  I told him that I would pick either comedy or a musical, but he gets the final decision as I wanted to be surprised.  We met up and I followed his lead to an undisclosed location. Along the way we "bumped into" my friend Emma and come to find out, the two of them were conspiring via Facebook to make plans.  We headed to Jamie's Italian where I heard Tom say he wanted a table for five.  I'm thinking "there are only 3 of us here, who are the other 2?"  So we head to a pub to get a drink and wait. As we are waiting in walks my friend Michael (who I was chatting with on Facebook earlier and I had no clue he would be there.)  Tom hands me a card which held a Groupon voucher for 8 sessions of boot camp which made me very happy as I am trying to lose some weight and get back into shape.  We finished our drinks and went back to the restaurant, but the wait was over an hour so we headed to Browns and when we walked in, Tom already had a table booked (as a backup to Jamie's which doesn't take reservations) my fifth guest arrived (with flowers!) and it was Adrienne, one of Tom's work friends and we indulged in a lovely meal.  However, that was not the end of the night, we were still booked to see a show...a comedy show above a local pub.  It was quite intimate with only about 25 people and the acts were good, well minus the very angry American ex-war journalist who thought dropping F-bombs into his rants about the Daily Mail were funny.  We parted ways after the show and when I arrived home there was a box sitting at my bedroom door.  I opened it and found the newest member of the flat, Cecil (pronounced Cee-cil) inside.  He props my door open each day and does an excellent job at it if I do say so myself!

Before calling it a night, Tom tells me I have one more gift and places another wrapped package on my bed.  I go to open it and notice its really heavy.  Upon opening it I see that in contains a bag with Tip Tree Tomato Ketchup and Tip Tree Barbecue Sauce.  You are probably thinking, what a random present, but there is a story.  Long story short, I went to a restaurant one night and they had Tip Tree Ketchup on the table.  This ketchup is DAMN good and in fine fashion I borrowed* it from the table and brought it home.  Much to Tom's chagrin he realized that the nicked ketchup was really good. We were running out of it so I decided to "borrow" another bottle the week earlier. Well, in order to put an end to my thieving, he purchased another bottle of it.  I cannot tell you how much I laughed as I opened that gift! 

I went to bed that night a very happy girl.  Tom really went out of his way to make my birthday a memorable one.  All my friends and family made it a special day and turning 33 was a piece of cake. It was a great start to a new year and I am really looking forward to whats in store for me!


*I do not condone stealing from restaurants.

September 11th

I can recall so much about September 11, 2001 as I look back 10 years later.  At the time I was living in Massachusetts. That morning I woke up early as I had a dentist appointment. I went about my daily routine...took a shower, put on my makeup, tied my wet hair back in a low bun. I remember I put on a coral coloured halter top from JCrew, a pair of LEI jeans and my coral striped flip flops from Old Navy. I headed out to my electric blue Dodge Neon, started the car and the Britney Spears Oops I Did It Again album was playing on repeat in my CD player.  I drove the 15 minutes to the dentist...for my 9:30am root canal (yep, root canal) appointment, got out of my car, took the lift up to the dentist and sat in the waiting room. I was the only person waiting that morning and as I waited, I flipped through a magazine while I waited to be called and tried to ignore the talk radio that they were listening to. I thought it was NPR or something 23 year old Jean found very dull.  As I waited, I heard the 2 women behind the desk saying things like...
"I cannot believe that this is going on"
"It just doesn't seem real" 
"It has to be a terrorist attack"
It wasn't until I was eavesdropping that I decided to tune into what was being said on the radio.  It was at this point that the Pentagon had been hit, I still did not know a thing about the Twin Towers.  My ears immediately perked up as my cousin Michael, who was in the US Air Force at the time, worked at the Pentagon.  I listened intently trying to find out what was going on and it wasn't until a few minutes later that I found out about the Twin Towers having been hit. My level of nerves went up! It was then that I vividly remembered hearing my friend Emilee talk about how she had the most amazing view out her dorm window of the World Trade Towers.  Needless to say I was sufficiently freaked...my cousin and my best friend affected by this!?!?

I was called into the office and prepped for my root canal. Meanwhile, the dentist and the dental assistant were talking about what it going on, but I couldn't ask any questions as I had all sorts of needles, tools and hands in my mouth.  I was forced to sit there and listen to the events unfold and I was completely helpless.  I kept thinking, what if my cousin is dead? What is something happened to my friend?  Then as I was laying there I hear the words over the radio "The South Tower is collapsing!!!" 

I listened to reports of both towers collapsing, I listened to the news reporters talk of people jumping out of the windows 90 stories up, I listened to the report of the plane crashing in the field in Pennsylvania.  I listened for 2+ hours and it wasn't until I got home that I SAW the what was happening in my country.  On my way home from the dentist I called my mom to see if she knew anything about my cousin and she delivered the good news that he was OK.  We later found out that his office was in fact in the area that was hit, but that section was being refurbished so he was relocated somewhere else.  I was able to get in touch with Emilee, who was audibly shaken.  I remember her saying "Jeanie, I watched it happen out my window. I watched it happen."  I knew she would be getting inundated with calls all day and I didn't want to clog up her line, but I told her I loved her and we hung up.  I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that these 2 people were safe.

When I got home I remember making myself a bowl of instant mashed potatoes (it was soft so I could eat it) and I sat in the green chair in my living room and was glued to the television for the rest of the day.  I watched in horror the images of Tower 1 burning as the plane flew directly into Tower 2, the images of the Towers collapsing are images I will never forget.  I couldn't pull myself away from the television.  I had to watch it over and over again.  And not once did I ask what is wrong with me...because I knew that everyone around the country was doing the same thing as me.

It was a day I will never forget.  It happened 10 years ago and it's one of those things where I feel like it happened only yesterday. I've only ever been down near Ground Zero once, it was the second winter I lived in New York City.  I was on one of those hop on/off bus tours with a friend in town and it drove down that way.  I always felt like it was forbidden area to go to.  To me it was never an attraction.  I just seemed taboo.  I can recall the first time I took the subway downtown and the stop I needed to get off as was World Trade Center, it just seemed a little spooky.

I was one of the lucky ones.  I didn't lose anyone I know on that day, but every year on the anniversary I think about the thousands of innocent lives lost.  September 11th is a day I will never in my lifetime forget.

 

London Riots

Unless you are living under a rock somewhere, you will know that there have been riots in London and other major cities in England.  I'm going to be incredibly lazy and link a great post written by one of my fellow ex-pat, blog friends Betsy.  I think it gives you a good summary of whats been happening across the pond...

Betsy Transatlantically

I do want to let you all know that as of last night nothing happened in London, but Manchester was hit pretty badly.  I am on high alert, being very cautious and just heading home after work.  The riots got a little to close for comfort on Monday night as it was happening about 10 minutes from my flat.  Needless to say, I hope this all stops soon. 

xoxo

Remember When I Was In Prague (Part 2)

Here is the second half of my amazing Prague trip...

The first full day I was there, that evening Laura had a work dinner at the Prague Castle so I headed up to there with them to check it out. At the point it was now pouring rain, but for fortunately Prague has a really beauty in the rain.

Sadly, I'd forgotten to bring by camera charger and my battery kicked it just after these photos, but not before I was able to shoot this quick video!

Remember When I Was In Prague (Part 1)

I promised you that I would write about my trip so here it is...

My friend Laura was going to be in Prague for a work conference and when she was booking her trip she mentioned staying with me for a week after she was done with her work thing.  Well, come to find out, she had a room all to herself at the hotel so he invited me to come stay.  I found incredibly cheap air fare on Wizz Air (a real no frills airline) and booked it.  Next thing I know I am traveling up to Luton Airport after work on the train and waiting for my flight.  After an hour delay we boarded and I was en route to Prague.

I arrived very late at night and when I got to the hotel I couldn't get in touch with Laura as her phone was dead. I waited in the lobby and I knew she would eventually come and find me, sure enough that happened.  On the first night we stayed up until 2am chatting.  She had to attend a lecture the next morning she gave me a map with some of the main sites to see and we planned to meet up in the afternoon.  This is what I saw...

Wenceslaw Square

The Powder Tower

Me in Prague :)

The Astronomical Clock

The Tyn Church

Old Town Square

When I met back up with Laura in the afternoon we headed to the Jewish Quarter.

And then crossed over Charles Bridge to the Lesser Quarter.

Stay tuned for the other part of my trip...

A Little Taste

To quote my friend Laura, who I have just spend the last 2 weeks with..."Hey Ya'll"
I'm back and will be sure to update you on all the fun and exciting things that have been going on in my life.  If you didn't know, I just got back from a mini holiday and a mini staycation. I was in Prague for 3 days and then upon returning from Prague (the above mentioned) Laura and I got to spend some great quality time together.  I ate amazing food, drank delicious beer, saw some incredible shows and laughed like it was nobody's business.  I'm at work right now so I don't have all my photos to put in this post, but I will be sure to write a separate post this weekend showing you all the great things I have been up to. For now though, here is a taster....

Stay tuned for the more detailed stuff :)

One Year Came and Went

Sunday was my one year Londoniversary. I can't believe it, honestly the year flew by.  I remember sitting at the airport waiting to board my plane and waiting to start my life in another country.  It's been an interesting year, there have been a lot of ups and honestly, there have been a lot of downs too.  But that's what happens when you make a major change, right?!

I'm not going to go into details, but I have been going through a lot of personal issues recently and these issues have recently gotten the best of me.  I will tell you the parts that I want to divulge and I am going to leave out the really personal stuff for privacy reasons.  You may know that I've been getting really down about my job (you may have read all about it here) well, I will be truthful and tell you that I have literally had full on sobbing meltdowns due to this job. Not because I am have a bad experience or anything, but because I am so bored and broke and it has been making me miserably unhappy.  The attitude that I have taken on has really be affecting how I handle my daily life.  Well my friends, this past week, I recently hit rock bottom and was ready to hang out there.  I even went as far as calling my mom and telling her I want to come home.  I thought that packing up all my things and hightailing it back to Massachusetts would solve all my problems.  Then I woke up the next morning with a clearer head and realized that this was not what I really wanted nor was running away from it all going to solve anything.

So pretty much, I had, with the help of my friends and family, an epiphany (for lack of a better word) of sorts.  I've come to realize that I'm always running away.  When the going get rough what do I do, I run home to mummy.  Well, I will be 33 in a couple weeks and I am now going to start taking responsibility for my life...about time right?  Also, a friend said something to me the other day that really resonated with me, she said that when I hit bottom, I am down and I don't want to get back up.  I can't say she is wrong.  So something else I  have thought about is pulling myself out of this rut and the others that I'm sure will eventually come my way.  Positivity and happiness can do wonders.  If I keep positive about things then things wont seem so catastrophic.  I've also adopted a new mantra, but for right now I am going to keep that to myself :)  It really seems to be working too, which is amazing! 

As for work, the only thing I can do is keep positive about it. I am fortunate to have a job right now and while I at work I can use my time wisely and seek out opportunities while I'm here.  All is not lost!  I will get a new job and being stuck will not stick.  I hope you will stick with me on this new journey and I look forward to taking you all along.  As for journeying...I am on my way to Prague tonight for a few days and then back to London for a bit of a staycation with the lovely Laura!  I cannot wait to explore this new city and see what is has in store for me. 

Oh and as for the day of my Londoniversary, I coincidentally spent with my old roommate from New York, Caroline. We ate Thai food in a pub and chatted over a beer.  It was a lovely day!

Playing Catch-up

Again it's been ages...sorry friends!
What have I been up to, a whole lot and nothing much.  I'll begin with my most recent realization, yesterday was the 4th of July and yesterday marks the first time in my almost 33 years that I have not been in the US to celebrate.  Funny enough, here I am living in the country that the US is celebrating their independence from.  Happy (Belated) Birthday America!

I've been trucking away at this dead end job with the weekends keeping my sanity at bay.  Between work, my new blog and a few things here and there, life has been pretty low key...not that I am complaining (well maybe about the job I am.)

Recently I went to see Derren Brown's new show Svengali, which blew my mind.  If you don't know who Derren Brown is, let me tell you a little bit about him.  He is what they call a "psychological illusionist" he isn't like David Copperfield (creep) or Criss Angel (freak), he is a genius! Tom is a fan of his having seen one of his shows last year and he introduced him to me through some television specials.  It's one thing to watch him on television, its another story to see him perform live.  One the walk home Tom and I tried to work out how some of this "tricks" were done and still couldn't figure it out.  Mind-boggling!!!

I have a lot of things coming up that I'm really excited about.  First and foremost, I'm seeing Kevin Spacey play the title character in Richard III which I am beyond thrilled about. I got the tickets back in January and have been anxiously awaiting this.  My one year Londoniversay is approaching this month and I have booked afternoon tea at The Wolseley to celebrate with my dear flatmate! Also my dear friend Laura is coming back to London to visit. She will be heading to Prague for a work conference and I will be joining her for 3 days. I have never been to Prague and am really looking forward to exploring a culture I know nothing about and drinking some good beer! Then she comes back and spends a week with me in London. Laura is one of my most favorite people in the world and I cannot wait for her to get here.  If you have been reading my blog from the beginning you will know that she is the one who helped me get settled the week I moved.  We will be taking in some more culture as we have tickets to see All's Well That Ends Well and Anne Boleyn at The Globe. Then its my birthday :) 

While at present not much has been going on,  I have a lot to look forward too!
Sorry I have been MIA. I hope to keep you in the know about the future things...and hopefully a wonderful new job (fingers crossed!)

I Have a Confession

I started another blog. This blog I will still remain tried and true to as this has one purpose, but I have started a sort of style blog.  Its a little bit fashion, a little bit makeup, a little bit hair...its a little bit of everthing but its mostly me.  I thought I would try writing about things that I a bit about.  If you care to, please check it out! 
Its called (drumroll please)...

A Redhead in Style

I hope you might want to follow along with that too :)

A Birthday Letter to My Dad

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today would have been your 67th birthday and if you were still around to celebrate it, I have no doubt in my mind I would be calling you right about now to wish you a happy one and to tell you how I wish I was in Weymouth to celebrate with you.  Sadly you are not here to celebrate it, but I know I can still wish you the best!  I guess the one positive thing about you not being around to celebrate is that is saves me the hassle of buying you a gift that you would later have me return as you have no use for it...you were always good like that :)  In all honesty though, I would give anything to be able to deal with that frustration again. 

This month and next month are particularly hard given that your birthday and Fathers Day always fall in the same week and next month is the anniversary of your death.  Of course I think about you every day and wish you were still around, but June and July I especially miss you.  Well and at Christmas too because you always bought me awesome Christmas presents and you know I love presents! I try to look at those times with a smile because I know you are still with me every day, but sometimes it's a littler hard to put on that smile.  Like right now, where I am embarrassingly tearing up at work while I write this, but you know, it happens. 

However, since it is your birthday I still want to give you a gift. Its a gift that I think you will like too...its for you to know that I am doing OK.  I'm actually better than OK.  Each day brings forth a new challenge or gift and those things are what make me who I am and who you and Mom have raised me to be.  Living in London is amazing and I couldn't be happier. I know that it would have been hard for you to see me go, as you were showing that when I decided to move to NYC.  However, it really was a great choice for me.  You know I've always wanted to come here and I finally made it, I probably wouldn't have made it if not for you.  But Daddy, I'm happy here and feel like things are only going to get better!  I'm figuring things out on my own, something Ive never really done...and I'm doing it!  So my gift to you is that I am good :) Is that a really selfish gift?

With all that being said...I want to say I love you so much, I miss you so much and I wish you the Happiest 67th Birthday!!!

xoxo

Oh So Very

Wow twice in one day...yes I am feeling ok! 

Fellow blogger friends, I have entered into this competition to win what would be the most amazing job at Very.co.uk and I am enlisting you to help me out!!!  If you happen to read my post about looking for a new job you will understand how much this means to me. The competition is based on votes as well as selection and it would be great if you could vote for me!!! Just click on the link, like the page and vote for me.  I dont really ever do this, but I would love to win this job. Its perfect for me and I would get to work with my friend Cate which is an added bonus!  So please please please...I'm begging (I know it isnt pretty) vote for me!

Vote For Me Here!!!

Search for Jean and you will find me....

Thank you!!!!

ps~ I know this is a very link heavy post :)

I'm No Forrest Gump

Remember when I wrote that I signed up for a 10K (if you don't you can look here and see) well that 10K is in less than a month and I am nowhere near ready for it.  I have gone back and forth about where I should just throw in the towel...but as I have proven time and again to myself, I don't like to quit things. So, I am not quitting this.  I can't believe that I am going to still do this.  I need to finish in 2 hours, I think I can do that. I mean I am averaging about 30-35 minutes for a 5K and thats with walking so I should be able to do this, right?!

Guys, I am going to admit this to you...I hate running. I have tried and tried to like it but everything about it I hate.  I never have that "in the zone" feeling people talk about. I dont feel like I am clearing my head ever either.  All I do is go out running and curse it! And you know what the weirdest thing is, I'll go out running and even if I have a "good run" or a bad one, I end up in tears b/c I am bad at it.  What is wrong with me? Why I am crying about running?  Its really annoying.  I want to like it and I want to be good at it, but I don't like it and I am bad at it.  Its a no win situation.  I might give it up after this 10K to be honest.  I just feel like I am never going to get better. 

I really wish I had a running buddy, it would make it so much better.  I know I cant depend on having someone with me but the few times I have gone out running with someone I dont end up cursing it all that much.  And the person I am running with is usually a great source of motivation for me too.  It really helps me.  BUT as I said, I can't depend on having someone there with me.  I need some advice from my running friends out there...can you recommend anything? 

Now, with that being said, this 10K that I am doing, it't for charity.  I am running for a charity called Counsel + Care. I don't like asking people for money, but it really is for a good cause! If you can, even its its a few dollars/pounds/euros/yen...it would mean a lot to me.  Here is the link to my page to donate ...Virgin Money Giving

Thank you!!!

xo

Stuck In A Rut

Im currently in the market for a new job and I have been in this market for about 6 months now.  I have been looking and applying and looking and applying for job after job after job honestly all for what?  I know what you're saying, "be glad you have a job in this economy" and I am because low pay is better than no pay.  But I have to be honest...I am struggling. Not only am I struggling financially but I'm also struggling with losing my mind and my pride.  I've been in a low paying job since the end of November and I was really happy to get out of the flat and off my lazy ass and start working. However now I am working hard just to keep my head above water. Im in a job that is serverely pulling me under and Im not just talking about because of the money. I am literally sitting on my ass all day long maybe answering a phone call every 10 minutes or so. I might occassionally shoot off a random email or make a photocopy of something, but I just sit here. There is only so many times I can check my Facebok, read the news and post on Twitter. I am so much better than what I am doing! For the first time in my life I have actually been trying to find work in a field that I find interesting, I enjoy going to and want to make a career out of.  I have worked in jobs that have literally but just that...jobs. I was never interested in a career and now I am!

So day after day I apply for jobs. Most of which I am qualified for and some of which I am not but its wishful thinking and you never know, someone might want to take a chance on me.  But I have beed finding that noone wants to take a chance on me...no one wants to even take a chance on me in a position that I can do, have done, am more than qualified for.  How is someone supposed to get a job then?  I cannot begin to tell you how soul destroying it is to day in and day out get emails telling me that I am not qualified or I dont have the specifications that the client it looking for, especially when the job description breaks it down and clearly states what they are looking for and my resume cv shows I have done it all before.  Are you kidding me?!  In the past week I have applied for 20+ jobs and heard back from one about a possible interview, I was told I would hear back later in the afternoon and nothing...I emailed the woman as a follow up and again, nothing. All the others have been rejection emails. 

Today I told my boss that I either need a pay increase (which they have not given in 2 years) or I need to start looking for another job.  All the while, I feel like here I am looking for a something else and failing miserably and Im not going to even get a pay increase from the stingy fuckers at work.  Im so fed up.  Im this close to either selling my soul for a better job or selling my organs for more money. Im not quite sure which is a better option....

Just A Thought

Yesterday I was looking at the calendar commenting on how its already June and it dawned on me that one year ago (31 May, remember I said yesterday) was when I walked into a flat in Battersea and was met by  "the most beautiful man I've ever seen" (that was a direct quote when I met back up with my friends that evening) The flat I walked into has been my home for the last 11 months and  man is obviously my wonderful flatmate Tom!!!  Yay for finding a great place to live in London and a finding a dear friend!

Im not wrong now, am I?

Chelsea Flower Show

If you are not in London you may not know that last week was the Chelsa Flower Show which is a quintessential British event.  This year I got a ticket to attend in the evening on Thursday 26 May.  Also, if you aren't in London you may not know that all last week the weather was beautiful except for on Thursday 26 May. We had the most bizarre weather on Thursday, I would look out the window at one moment and the sun would be blazing and 30 seconds later the heavens would have opened up and it was pissing rain. This was all day. Every moment the sun came out I would get super hopeful that the terrible weather was gone and I would blink...rain again.  At the point when I was to be getting out of work to meet Tom to head to the show it was still raining, but when I walked out the door the sun was back with avengence.  We walked to the Tube and when we got off at Sloane Square the weather was Biblical. I was half expecting to see Noah floating down the Kings Road in his Ark.  At this point I had pretty much thrown in the towel, we met Tom's mom for coffee and shelter and while we were caffinating the rain started letting up.  COuld this be out chance, we all were wondering.  Ok, umbrella's up and off to the show we headed. W had been in the show for about 10 minutes at most when the rain stopped and the sun came out for the final time...and stayed out! It was fantastic.  The weather was cool but it was all worth it. I saw some of the most beautiful arrangements and displays ever. It was so hard to believe that this was all just shipped in for the show. Some looked like it had been there for years it was amazing!  See for yourself...

I was so happy the rain let up and I got to go to the show.