It looks like I’m going to travel with my new job. I’m looking forward to it. Rumour has it, my first ‘real’ trip will be Seattle. There’s some big software company there, a big partner of ours, that I have to go meet.
I’m a wee bit excited at the prospect of travelling again. And, a rather big bit of me is excited at the idea of getting to go visit some very special friends in Ballard. Yay!
Fingers crossed it will all happen and I’ll get to me little ‘L’ and her Mummy & Daddy.
A few weeks back I stripped the wallpaper off the bedroom walls. It was awful. I’d painted above the dado rail, and done the ceiling when I first moved in, but I didn’t quite get around to getting rid of the wallpaper. Until now. That lovely (read disgusting), trendy (read 70’s Laura Ashley wannabe), beige paper with red triangles is gone. Halleluja.
Friday night, I sanded & washed the walls and Saturday I did two coats of neutral – Antique cream (magnolia) and two coats of iced gem (pink). And the bedroom is transformed. Yay.
So, today I find my arms aching where normally they wouldn’t. I can’t work out whether that’s from all the sanding, washing, painting/rollering or whether it’s from playing on the Wii – between coats of paint.
Oh hum.
All that’s left is to do all of the gloss work upstairs. Oh, and the study downstairs. Glad it’s not too much 😦
Been Tweeting this morning and have noticed a plethora of Tweets from a group of very mean individuals about Jade’s passing. How very narrow-minded of them.
Meanwhile, Lisa Lynch, (aka AlrightTit), lies in a hospital bed after having reconstructive surgery following her battle with breast cancer.
Even if you can’t see past your own ‘narrow-minded’ opinions, just think about the audience your Tweet/blog will reach. Many people are touched by cancer – if you think that is trivial, then think again.
Unfortunately, Jade Goody lost her battle with cancer and died in the early hours this morning – Mothers’ Day. Her legacy will be to save the lives of many women previously unaware of the dangers of not getting screened regularly for cervical cancer.
Whether you loved or hated the reality star, you have to admire her desire to lead everyone through the pain of her struggle with cancer. Her drive to make us aware of what it means to leave symptoms undetected, of getting regular screening and also of the results was amazing.
Living with cancer in the public eye – with every move examined, discussed and analysed was an admirable decision, especially with such a young family in the background. Her legacy of awareness will benefit the wider public. Her courage and determination will be remembered.
The BBC reports here on what they call “The Goody Effect”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7925685.stm
I was brought up in Scotland, and as a result had my first screening at the age of 19 – while at university. I’ve been for screening (at least) every year since then. It’s just part of the routine. I don’t get a letter, I don’t get called up, but I make an appointment and I go. My reasons and desire to be ‘safe’ are driven by the knowledge that my mother had a ‘scare’ before my sister was born. I also have a history of gynae problems – so for me – Jade’s case is really sad. But there are millions of girls/women out there who haven’t had the same experiences and who will now hopefully learn from Jade’s tragic story.
Last week saw us venturing out, onto the train, the tube and into the O2 for the Snow Patrol – Take Back the Cities tour. Having seen them before, we decided not to get tickets for the (rather steep) auditorium seats, but to go for standing tickets. It’s all about the atmosphere and in those seats, you can’t really stand up, dance, or move about too much for fear of falling off. Standing tickets, being not far from the stage at any point, and being in among other fans was just fantastic.
We dance, we sang, we cried (yes, we did), and we laughed.
The band…amazing.
Early in the set they’d played all the popular songs; Run, Chasing Cars, Chocolate etc. So, working out what the encore would be was interesting. Lightening Strike live is fantastic…but it was clear from the crowd that not many people had listened to the album all the way through.
Since seeing the band at the O2 a couple of years ago, they’ve matured somehow. The stage prescence is improved, even though it wasn’t ever bad, it’s better. They build into a song and engage the crowd to a point where you just can’t help singing and dancing along.
Gary asked the audience to sing ‘Chasing Cars’ and was visibily moved when the O2 erupted into the chorus and then the verses of the song. He commented that ‘Journalists ask if I get bored playing the same songs…after that f**k no’. It was fantastic.
Can’t wait to see them again.
One of the most talked about characters from the early days of ‘Big Brother’ is the subject of Lisa Lynch’s latest blog. It’s an interesting take on reality tv and how we view the people we are exposed to. Reality Bites is definitely worth a read – especially if anyone out there has had any kind of encounter with cancer.
With February being a bit busy, I’m really conscious that my boyfriend and I need to get away. We need to get away from home, from work, from our day-to-day lives. We really need to spend some time just being us. A couple. No homes to tidy, no issues to sort, no outside pressure – just us, a weekend away and no worries. But, it’s just not happening. What with one thing and another going on we’re just not getting away.
I have looked at travel though – in the UK, to Paris, Prague, Milan, Florence, Rome, Madrid and Barcelona. I did also check New York and let’s just say that I’m not earning quite enough to justify that one, just now. But, what surprised me was we can have a weekend in Barcelona, including flights (but, excluding meals) for about the same price as a weekend in the UK at a decent hotel. Can someone explain to me how that works?
We have invitations to visit from friends all over the world, but with so much uncertainty over jobs, money, and the overall economy, it’s very difficult to make plans.
I would very much like to get to see various friends in Cairo, Alicante, Prague, Zurich, near Colorado Springs, Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, Boston, Cape Cod, New Zealand and Australia…not to mention the friends in the UK we never get time to see.
How does life get so busy that we don’t get to catch up when we want to?
I haven’t blogged for a while. In fact, February was very sparce in blogging terms.
It’s the job. It’s the commute. It’s adjusting to a change in lifestyle. Eek.
I get up at 6:20, I’m in car an hour later, another hour later I’m at the office. Between 5:30 and 6:00 I leave the office, drive for another hour and I’m home, or at the gym. And that’s on a good day. Double eek.
But, I have a job, right?
I can’t complain when so many of my friends are about to lose, have lost or are at risk of losing their jobs. I’m sorry.
The Trouble with Tribbles 