Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Hello, my friend, hello
It's an ugly, rainy, wet, miserable, I've got tons of things to do but I'm much happier cuddling up on the couch with a sleepy cat and blanket kind of evening in London. I've been reading a blog recently started by a friend, reflecting on my life...especially a recent photography course I've taken that has reminded me just how much I love the art! It also inspired me to think about previous dreams I put aside, thinking they were just that...dreams. So here I am, picking up the path again with my blog, hopefully interweaving photography and writing as I rediscover myself and the complex, multi-layered, mysterious woman that I am ;-) I am not just an Occupational Therapist, I am not just an American living in London, I am not just someone's partner or friend or sister or daughter. In my writing and my photography I want to rediscover the world through my eyes, my own unique perspective, not through everyone else's eyes as often happens in my daily work. I hope to frame the compelling with my camera, my thoughts, and my words and share them here with you.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Big changes a'happening...
Wow, I've logged on and was told my last published post was July 17! And there are several new faces on Facebook who told me they only joined because I've been so bad about blogging. (Sheepish shrug) Sorry!
So let's see, what's been happening...Wickus and I celebrated our first anniversary mid-August, a week after his surprise birthday party, and between those two events he ran off to Rome to get his tourist visa for our upcoming trip to the US. (Rome because the London embassy wouldn't give him an appointment until October which is slightly too late for our trip that starts this Thursday evening.) Luckily the process in Rome was very smooth (South Africans are often denied several times before they secure an American visa), and the visa is good for multiple entries for a 10-year period, woohoo!
For our anniversary, he made reservations at a fantastic Italian restaurant in Bermondsey...it was a perfect little place with a wonderful atmosphere, dee-licious food, and for the first hour we had it to ourselves. He gave me some beautiful earrings that he picked out himself, and a Nintendo DS Lite...very cool and very Wickus! And I am now addicted to a game called Animal Crossing. I gave him some artwork for his walls, which he always talks about wanting. I took a close-up picture of a snarling cheetah in South Africa which was his favorite, and also the one I got the most comments on from people who have seen the pictures. I had it blown up onto canvas, 2 foot by 2 foot, in a sepia color and separated into 4 square panels and voila! Artwork :-) And I also played a song for him from my a cappella group in college where I sang the lead-- luckily, he loved it.
We have both been busily working, trying to tie things up before our trip to the States. I have successfully interviewed for and taken a job on a community stroke rehab team, which is a promotion for me. I'll be starting that job as soon as I get back, so I'm trying to tie up all the loose ends on this job before we leave. This has all happened so quickly that my supervisor, who's been on annual leave for the past two weeks, doesn't even know I won't be returning to work with her after my holiday. The new job means I now have to get a British driving license and a car. Aside from the fact that this will mean I get to do work I love to do, it would be more trouble than it's worth with all the associated costs. But I've chosen a very reliable make and model that should cost me very little in maintenance, gets good MPG, and is in a low tax and insurance bracket. And I've got a car fund now so that by the time I've got my license I'll be ready to buy.
The housing market here is starting to plummet, so W and I are also talking about buying...the plan was to move in together in October or November (renting), but it may just make more sense to buy in terms of an investment. He makes a good salary, and I am what they call a "key worker" which gives some nice advantages in terms of getting a mortgage.
So lots of changes going on around here. I am very very much looking forward to going home again, the week in July was just a big tease. It's been too long since I've last seen the Aveyards so the wedding in Denver is going to be a blast! I'm very excited to show Wickus some different sides of the US (Denver, NYC, Pennsylvania for ex-housemate Nicole's wedding), and very excited for him to meet the most important people in my life (Aveyards, Heilalas and Burks, Viv and Eric, Jenn and Chris, and Carla, Brian and Brett). He's already met my parents, my sister (who will also be home while we are!) and the Florys. Can't wait, just 4 days now!
Love to all
So let's see, what's been happening...Wickus and I celebrated our first anniversary mid-August, a week after his surprise birthday party, and between those two events he ran off to Rome to get his tourist visa for our upcoming trip to the US. (Rome because the London embassy wouldn't give him an appointment until October which is slightly too late for our trip that starts this Thursday evening.) Luckily the process in Rome was very smooth (South Africans are often denied several times before they secure an American visa), and the visa is good for multiple entries for a 10-year period, woohoo!
For our anniversary, he made reservations at a fantastic Italian restaurant in Bermondsey...it was a perfect little place with a wonderful atmosphere, dee-licious food, and for the first hour we had it to ourselves. He gave me some beautiful earrings that he picked out himself, and a Nintendo DS Lite...very cool and very Wickus! And I am now addicted to a game called Animal Crossing. I gave him some artwork for his walls, which he always talks about wanting. I took a close-up picture of a snarling cheetah in South Africa which was his favorite, and also the one I got the most comments on from people who have seen the pictures. I had it blown up onto canvas, 2 foot by 2 foot, in a sepia color and separated into 4 square panels and voila! Artwork :-) And I also played a song for him from my a cappella group in college where I sang the lead-- luckily, he loved it.
We have both been busily working, trying to tie things up before our trip to the States. I have successfully interviewed for and taken a job on a community stroke rehab team, which is a promotion for me. I'll be starting that job as soon as I get back, so I'm trying to tie up all the loose ends on this job before we leave. This has all happened so quickly that my supervisor, who's been on annual leave for the past two weeks, doesn't even know I won't be returning to work with her after my holiday. The new job means I now have to get a British driving license and a car. Aside from the fact that this will mean I get to do work I love to do, it would be more trouble than it's worth with all the associated costs. But I've chosen a very reliable make and model that should cost me very little in maintenance, gets good MPG, and is in a low tax and insurance bracket. And I've got a car fund now so that by the time I've got my license I'll be ready to buy.
The housing market here is starting to plummet, so W and I are also talking about buying...the plan was to move in together in October or November (renting), but it may just make more sense to buy in terms of an investment. He makes a good salary, and I am what they call a "key worker" which gives some nice advantages in terms of getting a mortgage.
So lots of changes going on around here. I am very very much looking forward to going home again, the week in July was just a big tease. It's been too long since I've last seen the Aveyards so the wedding in Denver is going to be a blast! I'm very excited to show Wickus some different sides of the US (Denver, NYC, Pennsylvania for ex-housemate Nicole's wedding), and very excited for him to meet the most important people in my life (Aveyards, Heilalas and Burks, Viv and Eric, Jenn and Chris, and Carla, Brian and Brett). He's already met my parents, my sister (who will also be home while we are!) and the Florys. Can't wait, just 4 days now!
Love to all
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig
Surprise, surprise, I've been terrible about my blog for several months now. I'm headed home tomorrow for a whirlwind trip, including good old Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Vermont, all within 8 days. Yay!! Summer and sunshine here I come! Boy have I missed you! I promise I will be on here when I get back the week of July 28th. Much has been happening, and there is much to tell ;-)
Monday, June 30, 2008
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losin'...
Can't stand losin' you!
We said goodbye last night at Hyde Park to one of the all-time great bands, The Police. As I'm sure a lot of you know, they reunited for one last tour, and we saw them finish off last night with a bang in front of 35,000 fans! It was an amazing show, the energy was incredible!!! And I have to say, in spite of the salt and pepper beard, Sting still looks finger-licking good, and he knows it (he wore a muscle shirt--tasteful, but still a muscle shirt). Guess yoga really does pay off ;-) And wow, his voice sent shivers down my spine. You haven't heard Sting until you've heard him live.
We were also treated to performances by The Bangles, Starsailor, and KT Tunstall. I think Starsailor has a new fan in W, who had never heard of them before. The lead singer has a great voice, and was obviously enjoying himself up on stage. We sang our lungs out for most of the afternoon and evening and the weather was definitely cooperating with a fair bit of sunshine amazingly enough! But as W put it, The Police just blew everybody else out of the water.
Next up, Jack Johnson and Ben Harper !!! on Wednesday in Hyde Park again. Let's hope the forecast of heavy showers changes by then...generally the forecasts here can only be trusted on the same day, and sometimes not even then, so there's good reason to hope ;-)
We said goodbye last night at Hyde Park to one of the all-time great bands, The Police. As I'm sure a lot of you know, they reunited for one last tour, and we saw them finish off last night with a bang in front of 35,000 fans! It was an amazing show, the energy was incredible!!! And I have to say, in spite of the salt and pepper beard, Sting still looks finger-licking good, and he knows it (he wore a muscle shirt--tasteful, but still a muscle shirt). Guess yoga really does pay off ;-) And wow, his voice sent shivers down my spine. You haven't heard Sting until you've heard him live.
We were also treated to performances by The Bangles, Starsailor, and KT Tunstall. I think Starsailor has a new fan in W, who had never heard of them before. The lead singer has a great voice, and was obviously enjoying himself up on stage. We sang our lungs out for most of the afternoon and evening and the weather was definitely cooperating with a fair bit of sunshine amazingly enough! But as W put it, The Police just blew everybody else out of the water.
Next up, Jack Johnson and Ben Harper !!! on Wednesday in Hyde Park again. Let's hope the forecast of heavy showers changes by then...generally the forecasts here can only be trusted on the same day, and sometimes not even then, so there's good reason to hope ;-)
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Running on Empty
I'm feeling a little sensitive this week. Although I am getting 8 hours of sleep a night, for the past 3 days I've been waking up seemingly from a deep sleep. I'm groggy, disoriented, in the middle of crazy disturbing dreams, and generally very unhappy. Not how you really want to repeatedly start your days.
I've been poked and prodded at for poor posture (belly dancing teacher, physio, fellow OTs), which is fine when it's one at a time. I've had a very sore coccyx bone, from what I don't know. You'd think I must have had a nasty bump to cause such pain, but I can't remember anything. And because I sit with my pelvis in a posterior tilt, the "slump," I'm in pain most of the time unless it's a really soft cushy chair. Now don't be smirking out there, most people sit like that. I'm going to start using a wedge cushion to force me into an anterior tilt so I can sit pain free until the problem is gone. Let's see, I also don't stand straight, don't use my core stability muscles to hold myself up against gravity, have one leg slightly shorter than the other (which tilts and rotates my pelvis)....the list goes on and on. It's been a week of people pushing me into different positions, and told to do it that way from now on, and it's just too much to work on at once!
I've got a big meeting with the Head OT tomorrow, which has little butterflies in my stomach, but there were big butterflies and outright knots already in there from other things going on, but it was just that little bit extra to upset the scales.
Right...I think I'm going to call the "Waaaa"mbulance on myself, as Cogger used to say. Sorry about that.
Housemate Nicole's hen do is coming up this weekend, Saturday night. Unfortunately, the forecast is for heavy rain all weekend, but then again they never get the forecast right here, so hopefully she'll have a clear warm night. Her mom and little brother arrive tomorrow morning, so she is in full tour guide mode already, having spent the week packing things up. When they leave in about a week, she'll only have two weeks left before moving back to the States permanently. Still doesn't seem quite real yet, even though her room is half empty.
I've been poked and prodded at for poor posture (belly dancing teacher, physio, fellow OTs), which is fine when it's one at a time. I've had a very sore coccyx bone, from what I don't know. You'd think I must have had a nasty bump to cause such pain, but I can't remember anything. And because I sit with my pelvis in a posterior tilt, the "slump," I'm in pain most of the time unless it's a really soft cushy chair. Now don't be smirking out there, most people sit like that. I'm going to start using a wedge cushion to force me into an anterior tilt so I can sit pain free until the problem is gone. Let's see, I also don't stand straight, don't use my core stability muscles to hold myself up against gravity, have one leg slightly shorter than the other (which tilts and rotates my pelvis)....the list goes on and on. It's been a week of people pushing me into different positions, and told to do it that way from now on, and it's just too much to work on at once!
I've got a big meeting with the Head OT tomorrow, which has little butterflies in my stomach, but there were big butterflies and outright knots already in there from other things going on, but it was just that little bit extra to upset the scales.
Right...I think I'm going to call the "Waaaa"mbulance on myself, as Cogger used to say. Sorry about that.
Housemate Nicole's hen do is coming up this weekend, Saturday night. Unfortunately, the forecast is for heavy rain all weekend, but then again they never get the forecast right here, so hopefully she'll have a clear warm night. Her mom and little brother arrive tomorrow morning, so she is in full tour guide mode already, having spent the week packing things up. When they leave in about a week, she'll only have two weeks left before moving back to the States permanently. Still doesn't seem quite real yet, even though her room is half empty.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wooohoooo!
"I'm in the money, I'm in the money, I've got a lot of what it takes to get along!" That's partly in deference to my own musical theatre obsession where for a lot of things in life I find myself singing show tunes in my head...but it also reminds me that Aunt Sue and Emma are in NYC this week, attending as many Broadway musicals as possible. Ah, a trip after my own heart. I dragged my family to four musical and dramatic productions during our first trip to London. As I recall it was actually something like 4 shows in 3 days. Anywho, congrats on graduation Em, hope you are loving the Big Apple!
Back to the whole hullabaloo--I have won the housemate lose weight contest! Which means the kitty goes to me, albeit I don't really expect to ever see the money that one particular housemate owes, ahem!, as she has not paid into it at all and represents the largest portion of money that should have been in there. Seriously though, I am proud of myself that the only time I gained weight was whilst on holiday in SA, and I have so far lost 8 pounds overall. I'm not actually finishing now that our bet is over, I have my own goal weight set to reach and maintain, and I'm happy that along the way I'm re-educating myself about healthy foods, healthy portion sizes, and learning to recognize my bad habits.
Go Allison, it's your birthday!!!!
Back to the whole hullabaloo--I have won the housemate lose weight contest! Which means the kitty goes to me, albeit I don't really expect to ever see the money that one particular housemate owes, ahem!, as she has not paid into it at all and represents the largest portion of money that should have been in there. Seriously though, I am proud of myself that the only time I gained weight was whilst on holiday in SA, and I have so far lost 8 pounds overall. I'm not actually finishing now that our bet is over, I have my own goal weight set to reach and maintain, and I'm happy that along the way I'm re-educating myself about healthy foods, healthy portion sizes, and learning to recognize my bad habits.
Go Allison, it's your birthday!!!!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Well-measured words
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7434740.stm
Amazingly, given the rapid decline of America's influence in the international playing field, a lot of eyes around the world are following this election closely. Some sobering and thoughtful reflections, although the author stops short of making a prediction...
Amazingly, given the rapid decline of America's influence in the international playing field, a lot of eyes around the world are following this election closely. Some sobering and thoughtful reflections, although the author stops short of making a prediction...
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