Journal Entries
A poem
Posted Feb 22, 2006
Which I recall in part, every now and then, and go looking for on the web - now I´m putting it here, so I can always find it! I first encountered it as a quote of the second line, in my favourite Georgette Heyer novel - Venetia. I like the way it is so confident and determined at the beginning, yet at the end we see just a glimmer of hope remains. It seems to hint at denial, a river in Egypt, which is a significant theme in my life. (sorry if I´m being very cryptic).
Enough drivel: the poem
Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part;
Nay, I have done, you get no more of me,
And I am glad, yea glad with all my heart
That thus so cleanly I myself can free;
Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows,
And when we meet at any time again,
Be it not seen in either of our brows
That we one jot of former love retain.
Now at the last gasp of Love’s latest breath,
When, his pulse failing, Passion speechless lies,
When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death,
And Innocence is closing up his eyes,
Now if thou wouldst, when all have given him over,
From death to life thou mightst him yet recover.
Michael Drayton (1563-1631) ´
A reference: http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/draybib.htm
And some more random associations which I think are kind of similar: a song by Alanis Morrisette ´Precious Illusions´ (These precious illusions in my head did not let me down When I was defenseless) and one of my favourite Something for Kate songs ´Moving Right Along´ (Did you get angry?
Did you get scared?
No I didn't think so,
You were just getting some air)
Maybe that´s intended to be true, and I hope so, but I always hear it with a vague feeling of irony...
That´s enough for now, time for a dance class 
Love to all
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Latest reply: Feb 22, 2006
Yes, I am still alive...
Posted Feb 19, 2006
Oops - it´s rather a long time since I wrote on here!
About life now - I´m working for the Council, doing a somewhat dull admin job, but I´m happy that it pays better than catering, and enjoying working 9-5(ish) as I only have to do 35.75 hours per week!
In my spare time, I´m trying to exercise every day, doing kickboxing on Mondays, and otherwise mostly doing classes like BodyCombat (which is a bit like aerobics, but the moves are taken from martial arts) or BodyBalance (which is also to music, but with bits of yoga and tai chi). There´s also a thing called BodyJam which is dance based, and quite fun but because they do the same routines for 3 months, after 3 classes of it I am getting a bit bored. I´ve been swimming once or twice as well. I´m definitely getting fitter, but still can´t get into my old trousers from home!
I´m living in a flat with 2 guys, one south african and one spanish, so I should be practicing my spanish more than I am, including right now because there is a bit of a fiesta, and a game of ´Risk´ going on, and the conversation all around me is in spanish! We have broadband in the flat now, but the modem doesn´t plug happily into the USB port of my computer, so I generally have to use my flatmate´s.
I´ve made some good friends here, and am still working occasionally for the catering agency partly to stay in touch with them. On Friday I went to a friend´s birthday party, which was a great night Tonight I´m meeting some girlfriends and going to see Brokeback Mountain, which hopefully will be good.
Well, that´s all I can think of to blather about at the moment, but I will write more soon!
Love to all, I will try and email you all soon!
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Feb 19, 2006
Just a quick note
Posted Dec 13, 2005
as I've only got 9 minutes of net access left.
I'm currently in Gothenburg (Göteborg), Sweden, killing time before I catch a bus up to Oslo. I've had a great few days hanging out with my friend Ann from London, wandering about, finding pubs and clubs, avoiding crazy people and talking about anything and everything
It's fun to be out travelling again - as happy as I am in edinburgh, and stoked about my flat, I still need a fix of new places now and then Hopefully I'll be starting my job with the council when I get back, and I'm looking forward to having a bit of steady 9-5 work for a while - having a regular schedule of work and time off is something I haven't really had since I left oz nearly 18 months ago!
Otherwise, I need to get on with writing some christmas emails - 'tis the season to be guilt-stricken and realise you haven't communicated with people in months, after all!
Yay for Australia making the world cup My brother is plotting a trip over for the games and I hope to go and join him in germany
OK, times up - love to all, will write more soon
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Latest reply: Dec 13, 2005
It's been ages
Posted Nov 20, 2005
since I last posted on here. As usual, I've been keeping busy, mostly working lots - still catering stuff. Highlight of the moment is that tomorrow I'm moving from the hostel where I've been for 2 months into a flat! Yay! A room to myself!! It's a 3 bedroom place, which I'm sharing with a spanish guy and a south african guy. Quite a nice place, decent location, and much cheaper than london. So I'm pretty stoked about that, and we all are keen to get internet access, so hopefully I'll be better about emailing and blogging from once we sort it!
Otherwise, I've booked my train tickets to london at the end of the month to see Faithless (one of my favourite bands of all time) and a trip to Sweden and Norway in december to visit my friend Ann, and go to my cousin's wedding
Life is good
Right now tho, I'm knackered and have to move house and work tomorrow!
Love to all
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Latest reply: Nov 20, 2005
Miscellaneous Ramblings
Posted Oct 6, 2005
Mostly relating to catering work, cos that's all I've done recently! It's not a job I'd ever considered doing - in fact the only reference to it I can even remember is the freaky/gorgeous neighbour-guy from American Beauty, whose 'catering job' helps him cover his income from selling weed...
Anyway, this week's highlight was a shift at a place called Blair Castle - at a dinner for 'Keepers of the Quaiche' - a quaiche being a small silver bowl with handles on both sides, used for drinking whisky. The dinner is a whisky industry thing, which includes a secret induction ceremony, various formal bits thoughout the evening (including a haggis ceremony - haggis on platter is paraded around room by chef, poem is recited over it, and during which it is stabbed/dismembered). The 4 courses of dinner are each accompanied by a different whisky (Cutty Sark, Bowmore 17 year old, Buchanan's 12 year old, and the highlight - Chivas Regal 18 year old), and bottle of which is provided for each table (of around 10 people). The evening culminates with a traditional scottish song, with toasts drink at the chorus. What makes it really entertaining is that while the first toast is made as normal, for the second all the guests stand on their chairs, and for the third they stand on the chairs and put one foot up on the table! Also, the guest of honour was a guy called Lord Robertson, former head of NATO...
Otherwise, I supervised a buffet table during lunch, then washed dishes at the Parliament then waitressed at a big dinner (held in the museum) for recipients of a Medal for Philanthropy, looked after cloakroom and served tea and coffee at the Murrayfield Rugby Stadium (also Scotland's home ground). I also worked during an Edinburgh-Glasgow game at said stadium, and served the players' dinner afterwards 
I've helped prepare and serve lunch to exam markers at the Scottish Qualifications Authority, and waitressed at a silver service dinner (I should say tried - silver service involves using a fork and a spoon to serve food onto people's plates. I was ok with bread rolls, but the veges were something of a disaster, and I actually dropped a small potato in a guy's lap... Fortunately he was very good-humoured about it!! Also I've worked at the Royal Colleges of Surgeons and Physicians, and served more drinks at the parliament (this time for people promoting scottish local produce). The variety keeps things interesting, and I've met lots of nice people.
The best thing about today was checking my bank balance and finding my tax return £618, thankyou very much Internal Revenue!!!
Tomorrow I'm only working 3.5 hours, so I'm finally going to go for that swim!!
That's all for now, except that my latest brainwave is the possibility of spending some of the ski season working in a resort, ideally in the spanish pyrenees, although I'll have to brush up on my spanish before then!
Love to all
Discuss this Journal entry [2]
Latest reply: Oct 6, 2005
CJ-Maranup
Researcher U779884
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