This weekend I returned to the weekend break – god what a brilliant thing it can be. Bridget of Bridget Jones fame did go on about weekend breaks but boy are they cool things and certainly peculiar to Europe. This being said I would like to think we were less like Bridget and more like the ‘sex and the city’ foursome.
We are four friends who met in the Cambridge but arrived in Paris by train from London & Amsterdam, by plane from Madrid. And all of us from different countries – Spain, Italy, England and Australia. I think that you can be lucky with the people that you meet – and I do think that I have been lucky beyond belief with the friends that I have at home and now in Europe.
The weekend passed as we ate, shopped and wandered around Paris. We did get just a tiny bit lost in the Marais but really there are worse things, and discovered some rather …. well…. I think it was lingerie .. it did look more like gold rope but hey each to their own in that area in France I suspect.
We caught up on the last few months since we left our cloistered existence in Cambridge, on the top of the Pompidou centre we sipped champagne and I certainly learned more about how these amazing women think.
And just in case you were wondering – my French still sucks!
Can you hear that noise? Sort of a rattle – thump? 
Nope must be just me. So why you ask am I hearing things?
Well I spent today (or most of it) doing an Assessment Centre and in an effort to stay bright and perky have been pretty much main lining caffeine. God talking about yourself for 6 hours is excruciating. It is like an extreme interview. Who can be that interesting, to have done that much stuff which is different from the other people in order prattle on and on for 6 whole hours.
The assessment centre was for a large consultancy so it was an interesting experience. Whether they also got tired to hearing about me will be obvious when they call with a yes or a no in the next few days.
God – too knackered to blog anymore…..
1. Put on 4 tops, long leggings, plug in ipod 
2. Turn left, suck in icy cold air
3. Start running
4. Past channel 4 (cool sign), down to the river, turn left
5. Go past Parliment
6. Check time on Big Ben
7. Over Westminster bridge – Milleniuum wheel what a dude
8. Down past Guys and St Thomas’ and over Lambeth bridge
9. Hot now, frosty breath!
10. Almost home
11. Collapse in a heap
12. I think that was good for me?
It is Sunday morning – I am sitting in bed with coffee, doing a powerpoint presentation and there is a lovely dusting of snow on the plants and rooves.
Cool!
Honestly you hear some odd conversations sometimes. I went along to a talk last night hosted by the Australian Professionals overseas network called Advance. Generally a safe bet for something interesting but not really odd.
Last night the conversation was odd. 
There was a panel of 3 speakers – some better than others – clearly this is not the odd bit.
What was peculiar was the open discussion after.
Some odd bod Australians discussed racism. Not that there is anything odd about racism – generally I would say it is considered pretty serious actually. What was astounding was that it was professional, white, Australians claiming that the English had been racist towards them.
Honestly, if it wasn’t just so wierd it would have been laughable.
What worries me is that the good natured banter between two countries, appears to have in a small number of peoples minds constituted racism. While I acknowledge that ten people can interrupt a single action in ten different ways – I can not understand how what sounded like occassions of banter can be interpreted and labeled with such an extreme word.
It was an odd conversation – and my basic reaction to the conversation is that the people who view good natured banter as racism should really look around themselves and realise how lucky they actually are.
High Heels.
Constantly a source of fascination to me – not possibly in the same way as men I might just add! They do make your legs look incredibly elegant… However I do have a hard time walking in them and all effect is lost when you are clunking along in them. I am certainly not alone as the internet has video’s on how to tip-toe about. Amazingly they have been around for about 400 years. Although, beginning life with slightly more practical intent – keeping your feet in the stirrups when horse riding no less.
I have this weekend noticed a high proportion of women tottering about on impossibly high heels often associated with impossibly short skirts and impossibly low cut tops. London is not a city kind to feet. Hours on the pavement, stairs in the underground, puddles of water to be lept.
So yet again my campers boots leave me feeling profoundly sensible, although probably warmer than those with the impossibly high heels spotted this weekend.
Every night I walk back to the flat from the tube and I feel just a little alone
Every night I walk past 10 homeless people in their sleeping bags, asleep on the concrete
Every night it makes me feel grateful for my life
Every night I think it is wrong that there is such poverty in such a rich city
Tonight I am thinking I should try and help
I am just not sure how to
Tim Tam…hmmm… chocolately chocolately yumminess. There are some things you miss when you are away.
Tim Tams would be one of those somethings – you can get chewy ones in Tesco. But you can’t go past the original Tim Tam which are a heap more tricky to find. Another on the list is hipster-bonds undies. But that can be for another blog….
I have had an old friend visiting from home this weekend. We have had a gorgeous time squelching about London’s soggy footpaths over the weekend. And goodness me they have been super squelchy.
And he has kindly brought me two whole packets that are bringing a hole in my pantry as I type.
It is not possible to escape that there has been some good news this week.
I stepped on the tube on Wednesday morning and people were smiling – probably not all teeth smiling, big dimples but the corners of the mouth were definitely on the move upward. Quiet an unusual sight on the tube where everyone is usually looking like they are sitting on very sharp nails.
The election of Obama is amazing on so many levels.
Not just the obvious black man in the white house situation – which is clearly amazing.
The fact that a large number of normally apathetic people exercised their right to vote – getting good.
It is also about the hope that the world may now turn around some of its less than savory decisions – Plus we may even get some good ones!
And, well people on the tube smiled at 8am in the morning on a Wednesday.
Right that is it. Enough of the fifth wheel, smug marrieds, having to wear flannel PJ’s plus socks as it is cold in bed by yourself and … well there is a long list of crap stuff about being single.
This is not to say that I am becoming one of those terrifying, crazy women who want children at all costs, with any guy that comes along in the next 10 minutes. These girls scare even me! I can also say, with the up most certainty, that being single rocks over being in a yucky relationship. I would rather be me than we in that situation.
This all being said I am fairly sure that while I am surrounded by people most of the time, spontaneous meetings of normal singles are not likely to happen. So it is time to do something about this single girl thing. In our time of constant internet interface it is the natural place to start I am hoping. It would seem that it is internet dating for me.
But my goodness what a competitive space that is! The women on these sites are absolutely intimidating in their spiels. I mean they are all marathon running- high flying – hilarious to by with – well rounded – highly educated – stunning looking types.
So despite feeling terribly inadequate, into the frey I have stepped. And in the end I guess we are united in the hope that if we kiss enough frogs one will turn into a prince.
So fingers crossed my prince is not to many clicks away.
