It's Okay Friday

Friday.

Where have you been?

I am so relieved to see the back end of this week, y'all have no idea. The thing about manic weeks is that they can sometimes drag and you find yourself rolling out of bed each morning wondering why it's not the weekend yet!

But, thankfully, the weekend is very nearly upon us, although this begs the question: "Should we really be living for the weekend?"

The highlight of this past week has most definitely been seeing my brother, who flew into town on Tuesday evening for the night. We went out for dinner near to where I live and chatted for hours, and it was just wonderful to spend some time with him. I do love that he flits in and out of London every couple of months - not many siblings have that luxury. Oh, and he brought me a gift this time around from his recent trip to New York (he never buys me anything ... ) but this was just too cool!

For the eternal Friends fan in me. 

Flatmate Laura was kind enough to help me think of all the things I could drink/ eat out of it. The list includes (but is not limited to): coffee, tea, hot chocolate, juice, water, soup, popcorn, rice, noodles, quinoa, couscous, stew, sauce, crisps, ice cream, yoghurt ... the list goes on and on.

But onto another list we all love. It's Okay to:

1. Spend a wonderfully lazy weekend in East Sussex with my flatmates.
2. Eat way too much. 
3. Play with dogs:) 
4. Finally figure out how that dress works ... it's taken me about three years to correctly negotiate the ties. 
5. Cleanse. Tone. Moisturise twice a day. For the first time. Ever. Painful. 
6. Hit my wall. Metaphorically. 
7. Gather my distractions. Again.
8. Miss my family. 
9. Curse, yes that's right, curse London weather.
10. Start the 5:00am wake-up call ritual again. Yep, they are back. 

I hope everyone has a marvelous weekend! 

**

Putting it into words ...

Hi all,

So, I've been writing.

Shocking, I know. There has been quite a bit going on in my head this past week, and I have been writing it down to get it out and onto paper, for sanity's sake.

It's a bit too self-indulgent to share on the blog, and I'm not really sure what to do with all the pages and pages of (structured?) free thought that has been spewing out of me all week. Perhaps I'll just keep it locked away in folders with passwords I am bound to forget. But you never know ... I might one day find a good place for the words; I might nestle them in future stories, drop them like little hints into paragraphs about old men and wet pavements and sad smiles.

I wonder how many writers do that. How much truth is concealed in the fictional characters that pop out of story book pages? Surely it all starts with some kind of truth, some kind of emotion? Fiction is the truth inside the lie after all ... I do love that quote.

In other literary news, I have recently re-discovered the brilliant poet Pablo Neruda. I first came across one of his poems on Paulo Coelho's blog back in 2011 and posted it here.   The other day, I found another one of his poems and have been engrossed ever since. This one is pretty good:

Poet's Obligation

To whoever is not listening to the sea
this Friday morning, to whoever is cooped up
in house or office, factory or woman
or street or mine or harsh prison cell;
to him I come, and, without speaking or looking,
I arrive and open the door of his prison,
and a vibration starts up, vague and insistent,
a great fragment of thunder sets in motion
the rumble of the planet and the foam,
the raucous rivers of the ocean flood,
the star vibrates swiftly in its corona,
and the sea is beating, dying and continuing.

So, drawn on by my destiny,
I ceaselessly must listen to and keep
the sea's lamenting in my awareness,
I must feel the crash of the hard water
and gather it up in a perpetual cup
so that, wherever those in prison may be,
wherever they suffer the autumn's castigation,
I may be there with an errant wave,
I may move, passing through windows,
and hearing me, eyes will glance upward
saying 'How can I reach the sea?'
And I shall broadcast, saying nothing,
the starry echoes of the wave,
a breaking up of foam and quicksand,
a rustling of salt withdrawing,
the grey cry of the sea-birds on the coast.


So, through me, freedom and the sea
will make their answer to the shuttered heart. 
Pablo Neruda*

Jeanette Winterson (still obsessed) talks about how poetry saved her while she was growing up, how words helped her to feel less alone, and I never really understood that before. But, sometimes you read something that so completely encapsulates everything you are feeling, that for just a moment you don't feel alone because you know that somewhere out there, someone existed who at some point in their lives felt the exact same way as you. They were just able to put it into words.

* poem via poemhunter

It's Okay Friday

Hi all,

The sun is shining and (according to my iPhone) will continue to do so for the whole weekend, which is ideal because I have got some pretty awesome weekend shenanigans planned and I cannot wait for that clock to strike 5pm so that I can get the hell outta this office!

This evening, I am heading down to Sussex for a weekend getaway with the flatmates. Roz's folks recently acquired a golden labrador puppy called Bertie, and I am so excited to meet him and spend some quality time with him and his amazing big brother Feargal (I might not have spelt that correctly!). There have also been rumours of delicious dinners and heated outdoor pool action - time to dust off the swimsuit.

On Sunday I have a massive family BBQ, which should be really good fun. Something about summer and BBQs make me so happy.

So, while I wait for my weekend to start, it's time to sit back and think about all the things in my life that are pretty okay at the moment ...

It's okay to:

1. Cook Caribbean. 
2. Re-watch the film that, for me, encapsulates my teen years - 'Now and Then'. So many memories.
3. Spend a sunny Sunday strolling along South Bank (and not mind how many S's there are in that sentence!)
4. Go to the gym when I really don't feel like it. 
5. Say "So long" to Lena's. We've had a good run.
6. Go coatless for the first time all year, and feel a little naked without it.
7. Discover that Camembert + Sweet Chilli Sauce + Pita = Taste Sensation
8. Have a long overdue catch-up over burgers and dessert with the lovely Natalie. 
9. Walk everywhere.
10. Take a rather intimate tour of Chelsea with my new favourite tour guide;)

Wishing you all a happy, healthy weekend**

Random Thursday: Phone Photo Dump

Hi all,

Just when I was harping on about my lack of picture-grabbing, moment-capturing skills, Lin and her fellow co-hosts decided this week's Random Thursday topic should be to share all those random photos I have (not) taken on my phone.

Oh dear. Well, thankfully I have a few in the old album that I have not yet shared with y'all (they might have made a brief appearance on Instagram, though), but here we go. In no particular order:

Prince Alfred Memorial
(and yes, that is some unfiltered sunshine)
Pic taken last night while walking to meet my friend Nat for dinner in South Kensington

Building Site.
I saw this while walking (I walk everywhere)
to visit some friends in Belsize Park one evening.
I was just amazed by the stark beauty of it. 

A PA I work with in Switzerland sent me some Swiss Chocolates, "Just because". 

The last time my brother was in town, we tackled Bodean's in Soho.
Yes, this food was for 2 people. 

Best thing about going to the cinema with your flatmates in Angel?
Chilango's - the best burrito place in London.
There is nothing quite like sitting on a bench outside a movie theatre shoving a massive burrito down your gob,
to really cement your friendship with your flatmates.

Yes, this moment warranted a screen grab.

I hope everyone is having a magnificent Thursday**

Time for a Little Nookie

Happy Tuesday all,

Last week ma fella (let's call him Darren, because that is his name). Last week, Darren surprised me with my first E-Reader - A Barnes & Noble Nook.

I have been wanting to get an E-Reader for a while now, having settled the moral debate of e-book vs. hard copy book in my mind ages ago. The verdict? There is most definitely a place in the world for both. I like Paulo Coelho's philosophy on this. The purpose of writing is first and foremost to tell and share stories, to have them reach the eyes and ears of as many people as possible. Writers write to be read no matter what the medium. Don't get me wrong, I love my bookshelves, I love my hard copy books - the smell, the feel, the touch etc. and no one can deny the romantic intrigue of the yellow paged, pen-marked, water-stained second-hand book.

But e-books have so many advantages for today's fast-paced world it's hard to ignore - most notably the ease, convenience and immediacy of being able to purchase a book at a moment's notice.  I am constantly flooded with book recommendations - from work colleagues, friends, bloggers, newspapers, magazines, Twitter etc. and I think to myself, "I really need to buy this book and read it." But, then I forget. Or, if I am near my PC I will buy it off Amazon, or Abe Books, but by the time it arrives I have lost interest (I'm a bit fickle that way). So, I end up with a pile of books on my bookshelf I never read, and for any author - well, that's not ideal.

E-Readers are also incredible for commuting. My commute is a bit chop-and-change with 3 tube changes in 15 minutes, so to be lugging a big ole book around with me just weighs me down, and any (honorary) Londoner knows that speed and efficiency is key when negotiating the Underground. My Nook is light enough and tiny enough that I can still read it on my packed train without constantly brushing against the coats and bags of fellow commuters (tried and tested this morning).

But, the best part about my having an E-Reader? It has finally got me reading again and the choice is positively overwhelming. I decided to ease my way back into reading (it's probably been a good 7 or 8 months since I have picked up a book - shameful wannabe writer, I know!) with Tina Fey's Bossypants.

Tina Fey is hilarious. I have always been a fan of hers and this book is just silly, fun, intelligent reading. I hardly ever have laugh-out-loud moments when reading, but I found myself doubled over in hysterics throughout this book.

One of my favourite scenes is when Tina and her new hubby are on their honeymoon, and the cruise ship they are travelling on catches fire:

“What were you thinking when we were holding hands diagonally?" I ask. Jeff says, "I was thinking, 'It's going to be so hard for her when she chooses not to get on that lifeboat and stay with me.'"

I decide I can't start this marriage with a lie.

"Really?" I say. "'Cause I was thinking that it was going to be so hard for you when I got on the lifeboat and you had to stay behind." He is appalled. I plead my case. "Remember when we saw Titanic how mad I was at Kate Winslet when she climbed out of the lifeboat and back into the ship? I think she encumbered Leonardo DiCaprio. If she had gone on the lifeboat, then he could have had that piece of wood she was floating on and they both would have survived. I would never do that to you.*

Brilliant. Sometimes women just need to get on the damn lifeboat.  

I am now reading one of my favourite authors (no, actually the more I think about it she is my favourite) Jeneatte Winterson's Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal

Have you ever read a writer that you just 'click' with? An author whose writing style and content encapsulates everything you aspire to? Jeanette Winterson is that writer for me. I love her mixture of prose and poetry, the lens through which she views the world. 

So, that is what I am reading at the moment ... how about you? Any recommendations?


* Quote via Goodreads

Random Thursday: 5 Fun Facts About Me

Hi all,

It's time to dust off the cobwebs on the old blog again. I hope y'all have been well. There is just something about Bank Holiday weekends that make weeks seem to drag. I cannot believe it is only Thursday. Work has been predictably chaotic (but the end is in sight), and other than that life has been chugging along at (mostly) blissful pace.

My Bank Holiday weekend was stunning. On Saturday I helped my favourite little one celebrate his 3rd birthday (I'm useless with picture-taking at the moment) and on Sunday I went for my first run in 2 weeks, only losing 2 seconds off my fastest time - a second for each week I've been sick. I cannot even begin to tell you how great it felt to finally get back onto the treadmill again, and as soon as the weather in London turns a lighter shade of grey and miserable I will be back on the open road.

On Monday I spent the perfect Bank Holiday day with my amazing fella. Again, I am not doing so well with taking photos at the moment. Somewhere in the back of my mind is the nagging social-media, Generation X or Y or whatever it is's voice pestering me to, "Oooh, take a photo of your brunch." or "Oooh, look how blue the sky is today, look how green the leaves in the trees are above your head ... take a photo."

But, you know what?! I'm just having too much of an amazing time actually 'living' in the moment, savouring the sights and sounds and tastes of everything around me to go, "Sorry, hon. Would you mind holding it right there for a moment? I need to take a picture of this ... "

But, I'm taking mental pictures and maybe one day I'll take some real ones and share them with y'all. Until then, you're going to have to take my word for it, that it was just an absolutely beautiful day, and I am one pretty happy (and lucky) lady.

Right, enough about me ... oh wait, no not yet. Today's Random Thursday topic hosted by Lin and friends over at Linny's Vault is 5 Fun Facts About Me.

Oh goodness. This was hard, I mean I can tell you things, but 'fun' things?! Oh, the pressure.

Well, here goes:

1.
I know all the lyrics to 

Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire 

and 

Weird Al's Everything You Know is Wrong

2.
I can do fast math in my head. Simple addition/ subtraction etc. 

I am quicker than a calculator. 

On a  good day.

3.
I can eat an entire bag/ box/ pack/ crate/ punnet/ slab/ carton etc. 

of cookies/ chocolate/ ice cream/ cake/ fruit pastilles etc. in one sitting.

My sweet tooth knows no bounds. No bounds.

4.
My film/ TV/ actor trivia is pretty good.
I am insatiable in my curiosity to know everything about a film once I've seen it.
I want to know locations, how casting worked, who was originally offered the role, what that chair in the corner really meant etc.

5.
I can do this.

And that's all folks. 

Wishing y'all a wonderful Thursday.

**

It's Okay Friday ... and it is actually Friday!

Hi all,

And we're back.

How is everybody doing? We have come to the end of another crazy week and I have successfully recovered from my illness, although sadly I am still not back in the running game yet. I tend to push myself quite hard on the treadmill and so, on the advice of my fellow PA-in-crime Ro, I have taken a couple of weeks off.

But, boy do I miss it. I have actually been having vivid dreams where I am running through the streets of London, dodging people, jumping over obstacles, sprinting through empty warehouses etc. Maybe it's time for me to consider some sort of extreme running event of some kind, something to push my body to the brink ... it's a thought.

In other news, it's a 3-day weekend in London town - hooray! It is also this little guy's 3rd birthday:

Man, I love this kid as much as he loves that ice cream

I would also like to say a little "Hi there" to my two newest followers. Thanks so much for coming along for the ride. This blog doesn't always make sense, but it's a constant work in progress.

And that's okay.

It's also okay to:

1. Bring It's Okay Friday back to Friday.
2. Finally succumb to that nasty flu/cold bug doing the rounds and spend 2 solid days in bed feeling very sorry for myself.
3. Work from home.
4. Eat an entire bag of tortilla chips for dinner, and realise it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
5. Admit that lemon and ginger tea ain't half bad.
6. Have an impromptu Celine Dion sing-a-thon with my flatmates. "Think Twice" - tune. 
7. Love those good-night/ good morning texts;)
8. Marvel at how a song can take you back to another time, in an instant. 
9. Be gobsmacked.
10. Be known as the 'soup and popcorn' girl in the office.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

**