Meeting Of Minds

It’s been a bit quiet on here lately: I haven’t written anything since last Thursday when I found out about the recent infestation of Dutch caterpillars in London… I haven’t written much since then because I’m a bit busy getting ready for my visit to the Lowlands. There’s stuff that I need to buy or collect, there’s clothes to be washed, a suitcase waiting to be packed, DVDs to be burnt, lists to be made and thoughts to be considered…

Here’s where I left off:

Friday June 15: Received an email from Kris, I met him a few weeks ago, who invited me for a drink some day next week. Been on the phone with my aunt for about two hours and probably racked up the phone bill big time… Have been chatting with MvdM. for a while. Worked on my dress and sent out some emails that I forgot to reply to.

Saturday June 16: I’ve been to Lakeside and found myself some cool shoes for the wedding, exactly the right color and only for £6,- so I won’t feel guilty for chucking them out, after the wedding. I bought a gift for DvD. as well; an English football shirt, he will love it. In the evening I went over to MvdM., had dinner with him and W. and got totally pissed drinking a box of wine… *yes I’m bad!* I think me and MvdM. had just over a litre each [there’s 3 litres in a box]. I also got my first Dior item, a really beautiful top… It was a gift from W., he works for Dior, sweet isn’t it?!! I took a cab home at 03.30 in the morning; had a wonderful time.

Sunday June 17: Was a day of rest and hangovers, although it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be, it was fine actually… Does that mean I’m getting adjusted to English customs???? Would that be a good thing or a bad thing?

Monday June 18: Called KB. and agreed to meet up on Tuesday. I’ve finally finished the dress which is a bit of a relief to be honest, didn’t think I would ever finish it… It’s ironed and waiting to be packed. Started another one, I took an old dress apart since it was already slowly starting to deteriorate. Turned it into patterns using newspapers [I couldn’t find tissue paper anywhere], placed it on the fabric and went to bed because it was almost 02.00 in the morning.

Tuesday June 19: Went into town to meet up with Kris at lunchtime, had a coffee at the Lounge bar [High Holborn] and lunch around the corner at Pret a Manger. Picked each other’s brain for quite a while: about an hour and a half. Had fun talking shop! I lend him my Actionscripting book. Back home at 16.00, cut the fabric and started to sew things together. Updated my CV and looked for typos, there were a few still so it’s good to put it aside for a while and have another look at it later [as I did].

Wednesday June 20: CH. called me in the morning to make sure about my flight number. They’ll be picking me up from the airport which is cool, it saves me a journey on the train to the other end of town. I’ll have to go to the storage unit to collect my bicycle and see if it’s still fine, might have flat tyres… We’ve been on the phone for nearly an hour. Again send off some emails I forgot about, I seem to be a bit scatterbrained lately. Received a phone call from my best friend IvS. who was a bit bored and wanted to talk to a friend. She was in Edinburgh on her own, children and husband at home [which is about two hours further down the road], and she had a very bad day so needed to vent. We ended up as usual, wetting our pants with laughter.

Thursday June 21: Burnt some DVDs with a variety of content for a variety of people, some I met recently, others I’ve known for years. Just a tiny contribution to spreading the vibe and hype. I will meet up with Amit after my visit to the Lowlands and receive the last bit of content that I still need… So a little bit of give and take, although I end up offering A. lunch and a drink instead… because I have nothing of his liking I believe, well I asked him but he never responded… Finished my CV; I changed some sentences and sent it off to a few people for proof reading. Worked on the dress for a bit.

So today is Friday: and I still have a large to-do-list [eg sending off snail mail, collecting stuff at the pharmacy, reply to emails, leave some comments on some blogs, pack my case, sort out the laundry etc. etc.] so if you will excuse me, I would like to have it all finished by the end of the day, so I’ll have a relaxed day tomorrow!

Oh and I also need to think and decide about taking my Powerbook or not thanks to Stu who sent me an email [that I still have to reply to] asking me:

“How will you survive with out your Power Book? I thought you eat, drink and sleep CPU (in your own words). You’re not going to go cold turkey during your trip are you?”

Yes I told him, I eat, drink and sleep CPU, which made me realise that I actually AM going cold turkey… the instant effect of that was that I have doubts now whether I should take it along or not and whether I should thank Stu for making me have doubts again, or…

I’m off to the pharmacy…

Later alligator!

Appreciation

It’s almost amusing to notice how people tend to back away from you when something ‘bad’ happens in your life. It almost seems like you’re not allowed to feel sad, depressed, moody or any other, by society labelled as ‘bad’, emotion. Or they can’t seem to deal with it. Well I’m not going to apologise for having bad days and what you’ll read on my website are true feelings because I’m real and I don’t pretend to be happy when I’m not.
It reminds me of 2002 when my father died of cancer after being hospitalised for three months. It was a relief to finally let go of all the stress and to be able to let go of him in a very heartwarming and loving way. It was good because I had a chance to say goodbye to him and tell him everything I wanted him to know. Share my final thoughts and feelings. Those moments are priceless and I treasure them forever.
But back then some people didn’t have a clue how to deal with this and instead of giving support, they backed away quietly. Instead of trying to understand, they started to ignore. I have to admit that wasn’t easy for me and I have to admit at times I took it very personal. Friends turned out to be not such good friends at all, almost like a natural selection, only the true and strong ones survived. I clung on to the ones who were there for me till the end and they are still there for me here and now.
These days I know better and I try not to take things personal, in the end I will only have gained no matter what happens. I’ve received some really sweet emails over the last few days and that is exactly what I need right now, a funny picture, an interesting link, something light, a few kind words/lines, a comment etc. I would like to thank these people, you know who you are when you read this: some friends, some acquaintances, some I’ve never even met in the real world, only online.
Life comes with good and bad things, if it wasn’t for the bad I wouldn’t be able to appreciate the good…