Saturday 28 July 2007

My Friday night routine

So after a hard week at work I need to unwind on a Friday night. What do I do?
I buy a bottle of wine from marks and spencer’s.
The criteria is it under £4.00? (hey I have a mortgage now) and does it have a screw top? (easy access) and then I buy it, take it home and drink it all by myself and roll into bed and fall into a deep sleep.

Last Friday I woke up in the middle of night and was thirsty and had wine breath so I got out of bed, walked down the hall, across the lounge, up the stairs into the kitchen and turned the light on, looked under the fridge, took a bottle of water back across the lounge down the hall and into my bedroom. Then I opened the bottle, had a drink, spilt some water down myself, put the lid back on and got into bed. Lay down and Jamie said to me ‘There is some water beside the bed.’ Bastard.

Friday 27 July 2007

The weather, what else.

I am outraged, I have just looked at the weather in Auckland and it is better than it is London.

It is winter in Dorkland, flippen winter and it is summer in London, OUTRAGEOUS.

My moral compass is very disturbed.
XXX

Thursday 26 July 2007

Good News and bad news

Good News
We know own our flat, offically! yipee! no backing out now we are homeowners with mountains of debt and our own little place called Home.

Bad News
I have a gigantic zit on my forehead that makes me look like a klingon. I am not joking my forehead is really swollen. It is so bad Jamie wanted me to go to the doctor. I said no.

I have already been to doctor for a pain under my arm, I thought I had breast cancer, my bra was just too small she said.

And then i went because I had pains on my ovaries which I googled and self-diganoised as a cyst. It wasn’t. after a scan the doctor told me it was period pain.

So I am definitely not going to the doctor about a zit, dodn’t think she will be too impressed she may even bit a little bit annoyed and might black ball me from the NHS.

Below is a picture of me with my zit, although obviuosly I am a female and would never wear an all in one jumpsuit.

xxxxxx

Wednesday 25 July 2007

Misty water coloured memories ....

So thought i would post one of the first letters home that I wrote to my friends and family over three years ago. I rememeber writing this too I think I was fatter then.

Top 10 facts about Andrea’s life in London, (there are 11 things on this list, I was obviously a bit drunk when I wrote it)

1. Now that I have settled in good and proper I thought I would provide you with a list to give you a little bit of insight into London town.

2. I read a lot. I have always read quickly and a lot of books but in London I read so much its illegal. I have joined the library and I go and get like 6 books a week. And books that I have always wanted to read. Like Animal Farm (a bit of a let down after all the press) and Wuthering Heights. Jamie works a lot of shifts so I am by myself sometimes and you won’t believe this but I turn off the TV go to my bedroom and read. It’s a miracle.

3. And I have joined the gym in London, like in new Zealand, and I am not going just like in New Zealand, some things never change. Too much time spent reading

4. I miss Shorthand Street. Weird because before I left I was phasing it out of my life and only tuned in for the weddings and funerals. But since being in London I visit the website every week and check the updates. I don’t know why because the characters have changed since I left so the story lines have no context for me. Sometimes childhood patterns are hard to break I guess.

5. Speaking of addictions I have given up soft drinks. Cold Turkey, no mucking around, not even a sip. No more soft drinks for Andrea. Ever, ever again. I have now been diet coke free for 8 days. Before that it was a 2-3 can a day habit. I had the shakes for the first few days but after day four I had ridden over the hump and was on the downhill slope. Actually I do feel a bit like diet coke now.

6. Yeah I’m used to the homeless and crack heads, I don’t even give them money I thought I would by all generosity of spirit, and peace be with you, but they smell bad and don’t seem that grateful when you do give them money. One homeless dude said tome that I needed to buy some make-up. Cheeky Bugger, Jamie probably gave him 5 quid to tell me.

7. Actually is transpires that I am quite a clean person and just a little bit anal. I have instigated the cleaning rooster at my flat and have had to educate people, that spray and wipe cannot be used on a bath it must be cleaned with Jif, thoroughly, and that the floors have to be washed every week at the minimum. Honestly where did my flatmates grow up? I’ll tell you where, Australia, that explains it.

8. My hair and nails grow surprisingly fast in London. It’s freaky. I may have told you this before but I have to reiterate it because it freaks me out. Big Time. Even the hairdresser said my hair grew fast. And she’s a professional.

9. I am in love with convenience food, but not crappy heat it in the microwave tastes like plastic food. Like delicious Greek meatballs and risotto and chicken with olives. I haven’t actually cooked the whole time I have been here. I just heat and it suits me fine.

10 .My Neighbourhood is a strange one. It has masses of Eastern European ladies, who like a bit of rouge and prostitutes, no correlation between the two. And about 5 million tourists a minute, all of whom seem to be groups of German school children with no supervision. And I have only seen one drug dealer, this is perhaps the weirdest fact as drug dealers are all over London waving stuff in your face. Don’t worry I don’t buy my drugs of the street, I don’t need to anyway my flatmate deals on the side (I am joking guys, just trying to wind Johann up)

11. I would sell my soul for a seat on the tube. I eye the seat up try and predict whose going to leave next and then swoop in like a vulture and claim a seat. I have actually pushed people out of the way before. I don’t know why I bother my journey is only like 20 minutes and the seat are gross, smell like a homeless person , are never clean and are always slightly damp. I don’t even want to think about why.

Well that’s all I hope this gives you a little insight into my new London Life. I am all metropolitan now. It’s starting to get cold and the winter lasts for nine months. Jesus. It’s a long hard road ahead with only the bright light of my birthday (in Paris) and Christmas to guide me.

Lots of love to NZ and all my friends.
Love drea xxx

Could it be magic?

Oh my god have just finished the final Harry Potter. It is a work of genius. Never in all my life. J.K. Rowling deserves to be richer than the queen.
Don’t worry I wouldn’t dare dream of spoiling it for you. Just read it. I cried. Twice.
I have only ever cried in two other books, The Lovely Bones broke my heart and when Nelson Mandela was released from prison, but I think that may have been more from sheer relief because he may be a living legend but that is a very long book.
Anyway Harry Potter lives up to the hype, redeems some of the slight boring books before it and made me cry and I have a heart of stone, colder than Voldemort’s gaze.

Xxxx

Ps am off to see the simpsons movie tomorrow, I am consumed by pop culture.

Saturday 14 July 2007

in da park

Look no posts for a week and a half and then three posts in one night. I am a post binger. Anyway here are some pictures of last Saturday it was sunny. Don’t be fooled it was the one sunny day we have had in 6 weeks. I know I am prone to exaggeration for comic effect but this is true one sunny day in 6 weeks. As Abba would say it is a ‘Tragedy’.

So we went to the park to have a picnic, watch the Tour de France ( of which I saw none by the way because I was sitting on my arse drinking beer, but as Dad would say it’s all about the atmosphere) And then I didn’t realise how drunk I was until I stood up, and by that time I stumbled home and did some drunk random grocery shopping, brownies and chicken sausages. I mean what sober person chooses chicken sausages? everyone knows that the best sausages are beef. I am a disgrace to my Austrian heritage. Where was I? Yeah anyway we hung out in the park and tomorrow is shaping up to be a hot day. BRING IT ON.

Pictures below. There are no witty captions to follow, just names. I am all out of wit.


Jamie and Ben
Rachel, the top of my head, Jaime and Jon.

Playing football in the sun.

Our house in the middle of our street

So here are some pictures of our new flat … hopefully if the lawyers and everyone gets there act together we will be living there in a month. Best not to mention the massive mortgage or the massive financial risk we are taking. Lets just pretend it isn’t happening and concentrate on choosing a new sofa instead.

The bedroom. With two windows. This is a big deal in london. Two windows with overlook a tennis court, ping pong.


Our living room with one tiny window and it looks out onto the relaxing vista of a road. Ahh the serenity.

The Living Room, take two.

The kitchen with granite worksurfaces, these are expensive and gross blue cupboards. You win some you loose some.


Our 70’s style bathroom, which has no shower and will be replaced by something a little more year 2000 and cheap.
xxxxxx

Sorry it's been so long ....

Have not updated my blog in one hundred years and I am sorry. I blame Jamie because I was using his fancy new computer, (without his permission) which he has only let me use three times under strict supervision and he wasn’t at home so I couldn’t ask him, anyway I was taping away and I pressed the wrong button and then the stupid ibook froze and I LOST ALL MY WORK. And I wet my pants a little bit because I thought I had broken his laptop but I hadn’t. It now seems to be working okay. But if he asks you I did not touch his laptop without his permission. If he knew he might leave me.

Anyway my post was hilarious it was all about the weather and stuff. I will try to re-create the highlights below. Think I will do it in points because I am lazy and it is Friday afternoon.

The weather in London is crap.
It is July it should be sunny and hot.
It is not. It is raining and cold.
No one seems to be trying to remedy the situation.
No one apart from me really truly cares about the situation.
If the weather does not improve soon I am leaving. I have no idea where I will go. Maybe Barbados or Beiruit.

Another thing the house stuff is moving along nicely will hopefully move in Mid-August am trying to get a new bathroom in before that. I am not too confident about dealing with trades people. I am little bit afraid of them because they have a loose relationship with personal hygiene and also seem to make a lot of jokes I don’t understand. Anyway am getting some quotes for the new bathroom done next week with make Jamie be with me for moral support.

Also loving the smokefree pubs and clubs because when I get home my hair doesn’t smell like a TAB (or if you are in UK a Ladbrokes) and all the smokers have to go outside which means there are more seats to sit on which appeals to my genetic laziness. And also drinking beer is just better when you are sitting down, it s a nesting thing.

Will also post some pictures tonight to make up for my long abscence.


Disaster just read in the paper that the weather will not improve until August. Jesus what the hell is going on? I am wearing jeans in july. Jeans in July! What has the world come too? Stupid global warming.


xxxxxx