Purge

Very busy few days. The project is taking shape and now closely resembles a bedroom rather than a cesspit. My walls are Treacle Tart #5. My floor is absolutely beautiful - I was laid by a professional! Might post pics despite nobody being remotely interested in wooden floors I'm sure. Now I just have the mammoth task of reloading my bookshelf, and I think I'll save the rest of the reorganisation for tomorrow. I went through some of my clothes today and made up two bin bags full for charity - some of them with the labels still on! I have a ridiculous amount of clothes that I never wear. These are housed in three different rooms. I'm going to continue the premature Spring clean as soon as the room is completed; I just don't want to make a helluva lot more mess right now.

I also have a lot more books than I realised, but I can never throw a book out and don't see why I should. I really haven't been reading enough recently and am going to try and set some time aside just for this. It's difficult when you share a house and there are so many distractions. I need quiet to be able to let myself become engrossed by a book and I generally have people talking to me or following me from room to room turning on the TV (that's you Boyf - who will never read this blog for obvious reasons!) But somehow, even if I have to lay down the law, I'm gonna try for this one. I've been reading the same novel for months and every time I pick it up I have to skip back a few pages to remind me where I'm at. I read a whole lot of the time when I was in France.

So sleepy. So many books to dust.

I rock Friday nights.

A.L.F.

I'm tired after an exhausting day stripping (wallpaper). The Boyf and I are working on our bedroom. We also filled all the holes in the wall, knocked out a vent, and painted the ceiling. Lots more work planned for the next couple of days! Ahhh, there's nothing like a project to keep your mind off things!

In other news, had a bit of an awkward conversation with Dedalus on MSN while I was on my late night in work yesterday. One minute, we were talking about shoes (well, I was talking about them, he was probably rolling his eyes and stifling a yawn) the next minute, he said he'd like to take me out.

Chica: Take me out?
Dedalus: To town for a night out.
Chica: Yeah we could go for a few drinks or something, but 'take me out' sounds a bit... non-platonic.
Dedalus: I know.
Chica: Oh. Well if we did go out, it would be purely platonic for me.
Dedalus: OK.
Chica: Do we need to talk about this?
Dedalus: I dunno. Not now.
Chica: Okay. I don't want to lead you on though, it's not nice. And I think you're kind of "on the rebound" for want of a better phrase.
Dedalus: OK (my real name).
Chica: Shall I shut up?
Dedalus: You want to do something later this week?

Is it just me, or is he a cheeky bastard? I mean, I'm being careful of his feelings and everything, because recent events have made me very sensitive to the perils of rejection. But, he comes back on the scene after an absence of almost two years and thinks that this is okay? Sheesh.

Let's have a slice of Mybug so that I don't start to sound like a complete man hater. He text me today asking how I was, and when I replied he rang me a second later to make sure I was okay because he said I sounded down ("been better, been worse.") I assured him I was fine in my chirpiest voice and he scatted for a bit, then I thanked him for calling. Kinda thoughtful of him, don't you agree?

'Muffin also brought a Thank You card into work for me yesterday for his birthday present, the loon. It's nice to know that some people appreciate you though, and we also had a good old bitch about Alfie, pictured below.



Petty, but satisfying :) It's funny the little things that can make you feel better, such as the email that popped into my inbox from my sister entitled: RE: that bastard. High road, schmigh road.

Paint the whole world with a rainbow

Hmm, for some reason Blogger is being very finickity about letting me upload certain images, so apologies for the lack of pictorials in the last few posts.

This week there has been a flurry of activity whilst the Boyf and I have been gathering things together for our trip to France. Cue many trips to B&Q and Ikea. Last night at about eight o'clock, we set out for Ikea and bought lots of soft furnishings to try and brighten up the building site AKA maison where we'll be living for a month. Now, the purchase pictured here may not seem to be the most necessary item of equipment for such an endeavour, but just look how pretty! I'm sure it will cheer me up of a morning when I'm drinking my French coffee and eating croissants! :)

The thing I like about Ikea is the little demo rooms they have set up. I remember being dragged around Ikea as a child, desperate to sneak in when the shop was closed and play house in the gorgeous little sitting rooms and kitchens. Now that I'm a 'grown up', the impulse hasn't waned, and I sometimes think wistfully of that phase I was determined to become an interior designer and make everything beautiful - a phase that was killed, I think, by overexposure to programmes like Changing Rooms and all the rubbish on UK Style my mum inflicted upon anyone who wanted to spend time in the sitting room. But now that I get to pick and choose my own surroundings to a certain degree (cash flow allowing), I can see again what a cool job that would be. And perhaps the French venture will be a good test for whether I'd be suited to such a life or not.

This may seem a bit of a swerve in direction considering I'm always banging on about how much I'd love to write for a living. And that may be true; writing will always be my first love. But I'm happiest when I'm being creative, and a job that not only allows but encourages and even demands my creative side is like my own personal holy grail. If I ever won the lottery, I would up and go and buy houses all over Europe to renovate one by one. Then I could write all about it and indulge both passions simultaneously!

Ah, we can but dream eh?

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

A Happy Birthday to Dedalus. And a very Happy Monday to me since I booked the day off work, ostensibly to get some study done, which is what I actually plan to do right after this. See my halo?

So I've had such a great weekend people! Friday we watched the whole Big Brother finale hoopla. I kind of felt sorry for Makosi for a nanosecond, then I saw her interviewed by the yummy Dermot O'Leary on Sunday and realised that she was still walking around with that big old ego. Referring to yourself in the third person is always a telltale sign that you have somehow become lodged up your own arse. But we opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate something I can't talk about yet in case I jinx it. More later.

Saturday we got our gladrags on and headed out for some tapas. I didn't really enjoy what I ordered but it was still a great atmosphere in there and we had such a good night. I felt the happiest I have felt in a long long time. And it was nothing to do with the sangria! I wore my new red silk top and it fits me really nicely, with jeans and killer heels. They killed, but not as much as the first time I wore them, when they caused me pain while I was sitting down watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! They're very high. I'm nearly as tall as the Boyf in them. The world looks different up there.

Just as an aside, what do we think of Skinny Jeans? I'm contemplating buying a pair since my favourite jeans don't really go with my Western boots. I've seen some bad ones though that put me off, I don't like the spray on look, or the type that look stretched over the crotch area. I think I'll need to track down the perfect pair - I was thinking of going shopping today but I don't think I have the energy for such a mission, writing my dissertation, and getting ready for work tomorrow. Stoopid responsibilities.

So on Sunday, which I've been told by a reliable source is gay day at IKEA, we went bed shopping. We bought bed accessories including a duvet set and bolsters first, then realised the bed we wanted (pictured) wouldn't fit in the car. Then we realised it may not even fit into the space we're buying it for, so drove home, had a conflab (read: discussion), decided to risk it and went straight back to IKEA in the Tranny. That's a Transit van by the way, not a Transvestite. We got our little list printed out at the info desk and then wandered around trying to find all the different bits and bobs that make up the bed. It was very busy, IKEA is obviously the place to be on a Sunday. I think it's the hot dogs. Anyway, glory be, we paid for the bed, brought it home and set it up to make sure it had all the right screws and bolts and things. I'm in love with it. I told ya'll I'm all about Bed these days. While preparing for our day of Home shopping, I also came across this gorgeous fridge that I could never ever afford.

Last night, after many recommendations, I watched Lost, and I have to admit I did get into it by the end. It did cause me to have rather strange dreams last night about giant polar bears infesting our back garden and chasing us out of the house though.

Last week at work was a bit rubbish as they had us doing all kinds of odd jobs like moving furniture, sorting through files, and cleaning. Midweek kind of dragged; one day I thought I'd reached lunch and it was only my ten thirty break. I have to learn to stop counting the hours. Worryingly, the weird bloke who asked Weezer out asked me my name. That's his modus operandi. The cheek of it if he does ask me out, sloppy seconds, I don't think so! Lila told me about some sleazy stalker type that bugged her for ages, when he asked her out and she pretended to have a boyfriend, he replied "So, I have a girlfriend, this does not matter! We don't have to tell them." Some people just can't take no for an answer I guess! On the plus side, if the way I felt on Saturday is in part a by product of the work I'm doing, it's totally worth it.

Proclaimed on the front of a church on my way to work: 'The Bible - the world's best seller, come and meet the author each Sunday!!'