Yowza! Or some such exclamation...

Gomenasai Mina-san! I beg forgiveness for my tardy updating of mon blog. C'est unforgivable. (Give me a break, I don't have my French dictionary to hand. ;p Haha!)

It is unbelievable, how quickly time has just slipped by...dammit, February is nearly over! Argh!

These past two months have been...how shall I put it? A rollercoaster ride. Filled with ups and downs - sad news, bad news, good news, fantastic news - all of these. These past two months have been so full, that it feels as though life itself was trying sumo wrestle me into submission. I'd like to think that I have not been pushed out of the ring...just yet.

My social life over the weekends has trippled. I'm flabbergasted at just how much. Me? In demand?! Oh, darlink! I thought you'd never ask.... Sugoy! ;) Yes, but by the same token -->Work has trippled since last year. Not good! However, I can bear it, and with a smile no less. Gasp! How can this be? Well, it's partly due to, 'I don't give a c**p anymore' ;), but mainly, it's due to someone who has appeared stage left. Yes, you know who you are. ;)

2007 is looking to be a tough year, but I feel ready to face it head on. Don't ask me why, but I have this great positive feeling inside.

Now, it's time for another of my special rants....

What the hell....?! That was my thought, after my encounter with this woman one morning. Yes, I am still a bit piqued and puzzled about it! ;p I was trotting (as you do...or rather as I do) to the station (and no, I was good - I did not forget my handbag this time! Hurrah!), when this woman walking on the opposite side of the street and going in the opposite direction, called out to me.

I stopped, greeted her and asked what could I help her with? She strolled over with a card in her hand, and asked me the directions to a road, which I had not heard of. So, I thought a bit and asked, 'Did the lady you spoke to give you any landmarks?'

She told me about a roundabout, so I looked away further down the road trying to think about where I had seen said roundabout when I turned my head back to her to finish saying something (literally, this took only a few seconds)...she had walked off! Without saying a word!

I mean...what the hell?! What can you say to a retreating back?! 'Errrr...You're welcome...?....HAG!'

And then run like the dickens.

People are strange. I should know. I belong to said race of strangeness, but there are those who go beyond this and into...God only knows what. I think she was just scooting into this category. Unbelievable.

Then there's Molly. Wonderful smelly Molly. I had to give her a bath last night, because Pepe looked at me with 'that look' and said, 'Molly feels gross and greasy.'

Ok...dammit. It is not my favourite thing to do, to wash this pooch. She loves to shake herself whilst in the bath...

So, I lured Molly into the bathroom with the promise of a treat and then the door was shut firmly behind her. Thus began the saga of bathtime.

'Molly! Good doggie! Very good doggie! Yes, you're very good! ARGH NO MOLLY NO STOP ARGH!' issued from the bathroom. My poor flatmates. ;p

I emerged after having dried the pooch; drenched, yet again, in icky dirty doggie bath water. It's like...I don't know...wrestling for 20 minutes. Well, that shattered me for the evening, I can tell you!

In any case, life is, at the moment, full, full, full. Work is taking up too much time, so that has to be addressed sharpish. Boss was nice to me this evening. GASP! Yes, I know I nearly fell off my chair. Checked his eyes, noooo, don't think he's taken drugs... Can you believe he let me off?! I still did quite a bit of work, but...I didn't have to meet one of my targets! Hurrah! However, I must tread carefully. He might be plotting something. Yup. He's that kind of boss.

So, chin up, face forward, be positive and march! But watch out for any doggie business underfoot... Such is life, eh? :)

Zut Alors!

Yesterday, I did something which I have never done before whilst living in London...I forgot my handbag.

Gasp!

Yes, I'm afraid 't's too true. I walked out the front door, down the hill, through the station and then it hit me on the platform. No, it wasn't a train, but the figurative bolt of lightning. No handbag! There was the backpack, but the absolute essential was missing!

So, I had to trot double-time back up the hill, and knock on the front door hoping that the girls would be up to let me back in! Thank goodness for Pepe, who opened the door and looked at me in astonishment. I thanked her profusely, scooted inside, grabbed the offending article (not its fault, but dammit!) and hurried to catch the train.

I made in on time...on the dot! Phew....what a great way to start the day! I didn't need a coffee in the morning; the adrenalin pumping through my veins was enough to make me zoom!

Akemashte Omedeto Gozaimasu!

Lazy, lazy, lazy girl! I am referring, of course to myself. I want to wish all and sundry a very Happy New Year and a great start to it. I guess better late than never, eh?! I am having to get used to dragging my carcass out of bed at 6:30 again...ooooh, no rest for the wicked!

In any case, as I told a mate o' mine, my 'New Year's Resolution' is to misbehave. I think it's high time for some fun. ;)

Last year ended on some high notes and a few low notes. The highs were singing in a gospel choir with my friend Pepe (after only 2 rehearsals!) - where as amateur singers we all sounded great together - I had forgotten how much I enjoyed singing in a choir - the feeling of being a part of a bigger sound...it's inspiring; my mate T's Christmas party - so much fun! T really knows how to bring people together for a great shindig; meeting up with friends to hand out gifts, or to take them to see a film (a gift idea of mine). I have to say that at the end of that week, I was about to collapse! I was so GRATEFUL that I was granted those 3 days of unpaid leave from work. I really needed the zzzz.

There were lows of course. One of which was the result of misunderstandings and overly high expectations.
The other was the passing of our cat Elsa, who had to be put down on the 23rd of December. Mum and I were in tears when we took her to the vet. The poor thing was dying in front of us, and she was beyond the point of no return. Mum was devastated, because that feline was the craziest, most psychotic, talkative, adorable stray you could ever hope to meet. As my mate Nicky once described her, 'A fine figure of a cat.' She was left by the previous owners of the house, and so Mum in her infinite kindness decided to feed and make friends with the furry black terror. It was a friendship that lasted for nearly 10 years. Hard to believe that so much time has passed and that we will no more see those 2 little black ears through the glass door, waiting to be fed, or hear the strange gutteral cry heralding a present in the shape of a dead mouse. Rest in Peace Elsa, there is no cat like you, and you are much missed.

Mina-san (everybody), do your best this year. Be bold, be brave, and most of all - be adventurous! If not now...when? I will try to do my best too; after all, practise what you preach, eh?

Gambatte!