|
Local time
readers reading..
Linkage
Life in the Fat Lane
my calendar
Blogroll Me!
 |
shocking, really..
yesterday, whilst at lunch my colleague told me the weirdest thing. granted, i've only known people here for just over three months - but still. she said that she couldn't imagine me being anything but how i am now. when pressed, she said, "you know, a mum - responsbile and stuff."
isn't that strange? because if she knew me and my past - holy cow. i highly doubt she'd continue to have those thoughts.
i suppose that once you become a parent it does change you forever. it was just funny (and slightly depressing) to hear her say that.
i saw the dr downstairs today about my knee and she said for me to continue resting it and to finish three more physiotherapy sessions. if it does not improve then we'd talk MRI to see what's going on inside. so definitely a wait and see approach. i don't mind that - i just hope it settles down because currently it's not very much fun being a peg leg.
online - i found a profile of my neighbourhood. have a read..
These are metropolitan white-collar populations with high concentrations of ethnic minorities.
People are generally younger, typically under 40. There are some single parents, but most households comprise single people renting and sharing flats or terraced houses. The accommodation is small, often only one or two bedrooms. Around 35% of the population is black or Asian. Both minorities occur in broadly equal proportion across this type.
The level of education is above average, and jobs tend to be managerial or clerical. Levels of students, people working in the Public Sector and unemployment are all somewhat above the national average.
These people do not need cars given their urban lifestyles. Instead, they will get about by walking and using public transport. They tend to go to coffee shops, and lunch in pubs or restaurants on a regular basis. They may also spend time in an art gallery or going to the theatre.
Relatively high numbers have cable TV and DVD players. Reading, and sometimes religious activity also play a part in their leisure activities. They have some interest in current affairs and might be readers of The Guardian, Observer or Independent.
Increasingly they will use new technology such as telephone, PC and mobile phone for banking purposes. Many would like to upgrade to gold and platinum credit cards. More realistically, others are planning to pay off their debt.
Uhhh...I was all about it until I got to the part about the art gallery and theatre. Ooh - now I feel judgemental, but you haven't seen my 'hood!
uh why yes, it does say my name at the top of the website on my screen.
i was just sitting here at work - checking my site to see if my long-lost friend brad who left a comment yesterday had provided me with an email address so we could catch up and WHAM!
one of my favourite colleagues saw my name at the top of the screen and has just discovered that i have a website. so - uh - hi claire!
Thursday
Lots of police everywhere today - at least two on the platform at every station we've stopped at this morning. Am happy to be stepping off the train now.
i decided to stay home today and rest my knee. it already feels better since being taped together, rested all last night and elevated for most of the night.
so i've already cleaned the kitchen, gotten the rubbish together to go to the outside bin, emptied and refilled the dishwasher and generally tidied the kitchen after last night's grocery delivery and take out meal. already the knee is starting to ache and complain a bit, so i've made up our bed, tidied our room slightly, opened the curtains and am now propped up with lots of pillows. i must say - it's bliss! i have freelance work to get on with - so today is the perfect opportunity for that. after all - i'm not sick, just broken in the knee department.
it's a grey, rainy day in london today - fortunately, with 11 foot ceilings and 8 foot windows, dual aspect in my room - it's nice and bright in here and cosy in its own special way. i'm on IM today - feel free to message. (contact details on the right)
knee and lurve.
Walking to work today my knee gave out on me. I've had problems with it since I did major damage to it dancing in a gay bar back when I was 19, young and foolish. Not that dancing in gay bars is foolish, more that doing it when you're 19 and in Alabama and you have two hours to drive back to University the next day with a swollen knee and a massive hangover is not the brightest idea I've ever had.
I've been seeing the on-site physiotherapist for a strange elbow problem that I've been having that seems to be related to my carpal tunnel that has pretty much resolved itself over the last four years. So, today instead of having the physio work on that I asked her to have a look at my knee.
Apparently it's not in very good shape. It's in such bad shape at the moment that she actually can't do anything to it to help me because it's too swollen. I've been instructed to rest it and it's now taped up. The physio asked me if I could take a few days off to rest it - but I don't think that's very fair of me to do. See - I have this superwoman complex at work and it would bother me to take the time to do something that I probably should do for my health. Is that weird?
Today is my wedding anniversary.. and my lovely husband sent me a fabulous hand tied bouquet of flowers. Pink roses and blush pink gerberas with white freesia. He did well and thusly I shall stay married to him another year, what a lucky so and so!
2.5 year old logic..
on saturday, we were driving to nottingham to spend the evening with our good friends cathy and lottie (thanks for an excellent weekend!) and we passed a field with a really bad stench. mary catherine asked what the smell was and i said that i thought it was the cows in the field. she asked if it was their poo and i said, yes, i thought it was.
she called over to the cows and said, "silly cows, you don't poo in a field, you poo in the toilet!" i told her that it'd have to be a pretty big toilet and that cows didn't use toilets and that it was okay for them to poo in the field. we then spent another minute discussing how everyone poops.
mary catherine then told us that cows couldn't use the toilet to poo because they couldn't wipe because they don't have hands. "true," i told her, "cows don't have hand, they have hooves." she replied, "but gorillas have hands." and then we proceeded to have a conversation about opposable thumbs, poo and wiping.
she did have a pretty good point, i thought. we then sang 'one finger, one thumb' at her request and moved on to the next topic. have i ever told you that i adore this child? in case you are interested - here are my two favourite books about poo - everyone poops and the mole who knew it was none of his business.
today we meet with mary catherine's current school to discuss the next steps with regard to her education. i'm supposed to take the tube over to west london. uh. i might wimp and take a taxi. i know i'm not 'supposed to let them win' but i'm still freaked out about long journeys across town on public transportation.
i think just about sums it up..
"Personally, I'm feeling a lot of anxiety; I'm pissed off," said Martina Leeven, 35, an officer with the Changing Faces charity. That morning, she had asked herself whether it was really safe to travel on the Underground. She had decided not. Pointing at her orange trainers, she told how she had, for the first time, done the hour's walk from Bethnal Green instead. "I'm wondering, is this my life now?"
She felt angry, not so much at the politicians or even the terrorists, but at "the state of the world".
Her colleague, Michelle Bativala, agreed. The revelation that one of the July 7 bombers had been a primary school teacher had shaken her badly. "Before you were looking for someone fanatical," she said. "Now it could be anyone."
read the entire article here
latest incidents in london
click there for the most recent update. andrew, mc and i are fine. i'll post more updates as things unfold.
File under: Only now do I think it's funny...
I think I hit an all time work weirdness high yesterday... Like every living thing on earth, there are times when even someone as dainty and quaint as I needs too use the toilet. Now, I'm important at my place of work, but I'm not THAT important if that makes sense. I work around people who are, though. And when said people need something or are looking for say, a document that you've printed that you might've already given to the correct partu because you're so efficient and fabulous...... And they can't find you - what happens? They send another secretary into the bathroom to holler your name, that's what. And you, being ever so helpful no matter what the situation, carry on a business conversation from your stall. Nice one.
oh look - it's wednesday. already. no really, it is. this week is just f.l.y.i.n.g. by, huh? okay, maybe sarcasm doesn't translate when typed.
to update on the school 'thing'.. we've pushed the private montessori school back to next september, so sept 2006. i had a talk with her current nursery and she will be placed on a pre-school curriculum there (early as they normally start that at three. we have a meeting with them on Monday. should be interesting.
my 4th wedding anniversary is coming up on tuesday. we're buying a new radio for the car. nothing says, 'i love you' like a blaupunkt, huh? i can't really say that i'm not a little stoked about it - but it's not really the mushy gift i had in mind.
to be fair, though, i don't know what mushy gift i DO have in mind. although something hand-tied with no carnations, baby's breath or fern from FELTONS at the wharf wouldn't go amiss.
i started reading (and i must admit i feel a bit like a lemming) the new harry potter yesterday. so far, so good.
The LSO concert at the Wharf on Friday evening was really enjoyable. There's another one this Friday, Summer Serenade. We're considering going, but must weigh the pros and cons of keeping Mary Catherine up so late since we're leaving early Saturday morning to head to Nottingham. So we shall see.
Saturday we went to the Fun Day at City Airport. Air shows make me nervous, but I was definitely awestruck by what they were able to do with airplanes. Mary Catherine's favourite bits were getting ice cream and riding a small scale Thomas the Tank Engine, which was in beautiful condition but sounded suspiciously like a riding lawn mower to me under the hood.
We saw Madagascar at the cinema yesterday and it was okay, nothing too special. I suppose we judge animated films using Pixar as the goal post. It was a good time out and when it's as hot as it is currently, any place dark and air conditioned wins my vote.
Today we were supposed to go and see the local Catholic primary school. Wait - I'll back up. We put Mary Catherine on the list for a Montessori nursery and primary school a few months ago. Originally, we said we would like her to start there in January 2006. Since making the application, we've been trying to get our thoughts together about her education and our goals in relation to our geographical area and our overall 'plan'. I still can't believe we're having to think about this when she's 2.5 years old, but whatever.
As I'm very much a fan of the Montessori method, originally we thought we would put her in this (private) school starting at 3 years until 7 or 8 when she will start secondary school. BUT. We're still not sure. We were expecting the invoice for the deposit required 3-4 months before she was due to start there, but received it SIX months in advance. As the school is moving premises, I'm wondering if they sent them out early to help fund the fit-out of their new building.
So out of the blue, we have to find £852 and have two weeks to do so. But more importantly than sourcing the dosh to pay them, we feel like we've just been given a mere two weeks to decide her educational future. See - I've already called and tried to push the start date back to April of next year, but there's already a waiting list and because we'd be declined the place offered, we go to the END of the list for other terms.
So. The local Catholic primary is also an option, but I've spoken to them and their nursery program is only part time. So I would have to hire a nanny or childminder to pick her up at 11:30 and care for her for the remainder of the day. I'm not keen on that idea at all.
I feel like such an outsider when it comes to the British educational system and because of that, I am sure I am making this harder than it actually is. I'm just not sure of the system and what to expect. I also don't like the area we live in with regards to this topic and the schools are not very impressive with their rankings on the league tables.
So - with that in mind, I made an appointment to go and see the local Catholic primary today. I know she wouldn't go there until the September before but I wanted to get a feel for the school. Just to see if it is an option. We got there at our appointed time and no one knew we were coming and the woman we were meeting was out with a personal issue.
Oh well.
We've done a lot of talking over the weekend and I think we are going to push entrance into the Montessori school back until September 2006. Mary Catherine will stay in her current nursery (which we love) until then. It's really freaking me out, making these decisions. I know it goes with the territory of being a parent but I just really, really, really don't want to get it wrong.
Ahhhh summer evenings..
Sitting here waiting on andrew and mc to arrive... Tonight is the LSO concert at the wharf. I've gotten us some posh picnic food and a good spacious seat. Can't wait!
Tomorrow we're going to a free concert at the Wharf. The LSO is performing the music of John Williams and I'm really looking forward to it. We've been to the free concerts three years running now and they get better every year.
This photo was taken at last year's concert and I've been enjoying looking at the differences in Mary Catherine then and now. Aww.
apparently there's a bus with a suspect package outside my building - so we're locked down and have been advised to stay away from the windows. surprisingly, i feel pretty safe - but a little twitchy.
UPDATE: we're all clear now. whew.
On way home from dinner out with good friend Zed.... I'm on the train - I hate travelling at this hour.. It's the time of night when all the office people who decided to go out on the razzle are well toasted to the point of being either half passed out or obnoxious. So far, I've been on the train for 5 minutes and have been offered gum, spoken to randomly, watched a girl on very high heels fall over and watched three people hold their heads because it's obvious that their world is a bit topsy turvy. Now, I've had a cocktail or eight on more than a few evenings... But it's just so not fun to be the sober person! If someone voms I'm so outta here and into a taxi. There are these three very drunk middle aged people - two men and a woman and they're very entertaining. The bizarre thing is that they don't look like they should know each other. One's in a suit, one looks very blue collar and she's just a frumpy non descript woman. Suit is hanging all over her, but she's obviously into bluecollar who's looking rather sleepy. Suit just asked her out and they've all just discovered they're on the right train, but going the wrong direction! These two blokes just got on the train and they're selling tea towels - frumpy is interested and having a look. Suit is trying to get them to come down in price, saying he'd buy them for frumpy if they were £1. How weird is this? Three drunkards discussing the price of black market tea towels going the wrong way on the right train? Holy mother of Moses, now they're comparing prices on oven gloves! Who needs a television? Oh, now she's offering £2 for the gardening gloves. well, at least my life is never dull!
there now, that's better.
"The US military has rescinded an order to its personnel to avoid London in the aftermath of the bombings." full article here.
but I have to ask.. has damage already been done?
way to show support, huh?
US troops ordered to avoid London
"...RAF Lakenheath spokesman, Staff Sgt Jeff Hamm, said: "Because the attacks were so recent there is an uncertainty as to the reasons why and how imminent the threat is right now.
"Obviously it is in the interests of the air force to ensure its personnel are as vigilant and as safe as possible."
He said the US sympathised with Londoners, but added: "While it's important for some to carry on business as usual, the interests in keeping the air force out of harm's way until we have a bit more knowledge about what has happened is greater than the need to send them back into the city."
Service personnel are being allowed to use the M25 to get to Heathrow or Gatwick airports.
Details of the travel ban, enforced on Friday, emerged as US President George W Bush said the US would "not retreat in the face of terrorists".
He said: "In this difficult hour, the people of Great Britain can know the American people stand with you."
Hmm... he must mean, 'with' you from a safe distance, I suppose. I don't think this really sends out the message that terrorists never win, do you? Full article here.
Pictures from Mary Catherine's friend Evie's birthday party are here. Evie is a friend of hers from nursery. There were other children there that she spends her days with that I'd never met. It was almost surreal watching her with children that weren't familiar to me that she obviously knew so well.
Because Andrew handles her to and from nursery it's an entire world that I have very little contact with. I'm very glad that she has such good friends, even if I'm an outsider on their relationships.
On another note - apparently the trains are all pretty empty and everyone in London has taken to the roads to get to work today. I suppose we're all a bit nervous whilst trying to be as normal as possible.
Monday
Waiting on the train... This, of course, will be my first commute since the bombings last thursday. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous - not that I really expect there to be another incident, hopefully. It's more the realisation that I've done this journey numerous times without really thinking about my safety. Today, it's at the forfront of my mind. Do we get so plugged in to our ipods (guilty hand raised) and too busy typing out email on our blackberries to keep vigil for suspect packages? Are the British too polite to point out suspiciously left bags? I know I'm ready to jump at anything that looks weird - I just hope others are as well. Does that make me seem paranoid? Does it seem like I'm letting the terrorists win, giving them what they want? No. I'm not afraid - I'm angry that bit by bit I'm having to accept threats like this as the norm. Train's here, more later.
On the road...
Blogging from outside the new Apple store at Bluewater.. We got here after the opening, but before they started restricting access. Happy to say that we got three tees and lots of giggles as people got a bit stroppy about having to line up to go into a store. More later, Apple fans.....
when it rains...
Andrew just rang and our housekeeper (well, our sub for our normal housekeeper) had just screamed, collapsed and had some kind of fit where she stopped breathing. He dialled 999 and an ambulance has been and gone, taking Sveetlana to the closest hosiptal. I think he's a bit shaken, which is understandable.
Mary Catherine got on the phone a bit later and told me that Miss Lana was a bit poorly and was taken by the Doctors in the ambulance to get better. Kudos to Andrew for taking charge and getting through what could've been a tough situation.
As far as the aftermath of yesterday's unpleasantness, it's back to business as usual for most of London. The transport system is running, albeit not 100%. The emergency services and transport authorities really did an outstanding job and are to be commended. Andrew was off work today, which is a blessing. I can't imagine what Sveetlana would've done had he not been there.
Seriously - we're being looked after. It wasn't a fluke that MC was in a nursery on the wharf yesterday, giving me the car and the ability to help others get home. It's obviously been a blessing that Andrew was home today. Mysterious ways, I tell you. Mysterious ways.
we are home.. all three of us.
thank goodness that mary catherine's nursery was closed (for a previously scheduled closing) and she was in an emergency nursery at canary wharf. that meant that i had the car and was able to get her and drive home, taking colleagues with me off the property.
andrew made his way via buses and overland trains and got home about an hour and a half after us.
i can not describe to you the feeling of stillness and calmness that has come over london, or at least my part of it. i know that people here are used to terror attacks, given the ordeal with the IRA in the past. but everyone here today has just cleaved together and gotten on with things and done what needed to be done to get home and help others. people were not complaining about having to walk home or stand in three mile lines to get on a river taxi. they just did it. i am seriously impressed.
many thanks for everyone who's written today asking if we're okay - i really appreciate all your kind thoughts and well wishes.
today's events..
in case you haven't heard - there's weirdness in london today. andrew, mc and i are fine - separated, but relatively safe. i'll update you as the situation changes.
is v. scary stuff.
that's what we like to hear...
London's homeowners could be first Olympic winners
Hilary Osborne
Wednesday July 6, 2005
"...Hosting an Olympic games encourages city regeneration and is usually accompanied by an improvement in facilities and transport links," says Tim Crawford, group economist at Halifax. "Homeowners in Hackney and Stratford, could potentially reap similar benefits to other Olympic precincts over the longer term." His colleague, Martin Ellis suggests London as a whole could see some uplift in prices although he is unwilling to speculate on how much price growth homeowners might see... Halifax's research suggests the average increase among host cities has been 66%."
read the full article here.
It's London for the 2012 Olympics! Most excellent!
last wednesday we made one of the most valueable purchases thus far in our parenting career. the tommee tippee potette. it's fantastic and has already been put to very good use. it fits perfectly in the space between the front and back seats of our car and it means that mary catherine can wee whenever and wherever. now a proper toilet is always our first choice, but when you're on the go the potette is an fantastic option.
just thought i'd pass that along - i'd always seen them in the shops and thought they were silly. not so silly when you've got a 2.5 year old that's gotta go!
i know i haven't updated on mary catherine's progress lately - but she's completely potty trained and is now only using the dummy/pacifier in her cot at night. both of these life changing events were pretty much her own decision, we just followed her lead.
My 21 year-old colleague asked to listen to my ipod today to see what music I had on there.. She said that I must like rock and roll and oldies! When I probed further, by oldies she meant Moby circa 1994. How weird is it to think that I work with someone, although she is a junior, who was born the year after I hit puberty? I'm not handling getting older very well. No sir, not one bit.
my mom should be taking off at this precise moment. we had an excellent visit and i'm so very sad that she's gone. it's hard to sit here and work whilst being a bit blue on the inside.
yesterday, we took mary catherine to have her first proper 'all over' haircut. she was very good once a female stylist was found and her hair looks much cuter. it had just gotten a bit scraggly.
my journey up north was pleasant enough on friday evening. the train was pretty old and not all that comfortable, but it got me there on time so i can not complain. we had a nice day on saturday and went to neice's christening on sunday. it was nice to see andrew's family and i'm glad my mom was able to join us.
so here i am. it's tuesday. not in the best of spirits, but that's to be expected, i suppose.
If we never had a problem, then that's what life would be like..
That's a line from the song I'm currently listening to on my train journey to newcastle.... "That's me trying" by ben folds, aimee mann and - of all people - willaim shatner. It's a really good song! So I'm chugging down the rails as I just mentioned... Facing backwards. I hate riding backwards and could swear I requested to go forwards.. The train is packed, which is not terribly surprising given the fare was £29. Earlier trains were £89 - so it was a bit of a no brainer. Plus I am not sure I wouldve made the earlier train... Bumpy ride.. Bumpy backwards ride. Thank gosh I have my ipod shuffle (in its new sport case, thanks to andrew) working its magic.. That and THREE gossip magazines, a diet coke and huge bottle of evian. That'd be me - livin' large on the newkkie express! I'm cracking myself up!
light week, eh?
apologies for leaving you all week with a dilbert cartoon and a reminder about world poverty.
andrew, mary catherine and mom headed north to andrew's parents' house leaving me here in london to fend for myself. i'm going up tonight on a late train to join them.
i was a little lonely - but have had a pretty decent time on my own. this morning was a doddle - i was the only one i had to get dressed and out the door! what a luxury! commute was fine - a bus and a train. no big whoop.
can't think of anything significant at the moment, but will blog from the train tonight i'm sure out of pure boredom.
|
|
posted by 
