STILL ALIVE

I can't believe it's been over 3 months since I last posted. My excuse is that I moved house in May and we only had the internet connected earlier this week. So much for my (unpublished) resolution to post one blog per week. Still, keeping a new years' resolution until April is pretty darn impressive if I do say so myself.

So what have I been up to since April? I have no idea. That's why I'm supposed to be writing this damn blog! I imagine my memory as being this massive dark attic, stuffed full of useless treasures from days gone by (the lyrics to Ice Ice baby, the technical name of that pump that doctors use to test blood pressure, the words and tune of a Japanese children's song about frogs). The memory attic is so crowded with rubbish that there is hardly any room to store any new, interesting pieces that I collect. So some things I throw in there get wedged down behind the other junk, out of sight, but can be found later on with a bit of fumbling around. Other things, however, don't fit at all and are lost forever. It's like I fling my experiences into the memory attic but they just skim over the top of the storage piles and fly out the window, never to be seen again.

Here's a quick overview of some of things I can still see peeking out from behind my memory of the time I nose-dived into the netball court in front of all the boys in high school and landed with my skirt over my head (wish I could toss that memory out the attic window):

Moved house
I moved from the stroller-strewn streets of SW11 north to the tree-lined avenues of West Hampstead. Most importantly, I'm no longer living in a room the size of a kitchen pantry.

Note to internet stalkers - the attached photo isn't of my new (or old) house, it's from a cute town in Norfolk. So there.

Visited York
York is a beautiful, lovely, quaint city. I dragged a London buddy up with me to visit a friend of mine and we had a fantastic weekend. I've always loved walled cities. I love walking around the cobbled streets and imagining I can hear the footfalls of people taking those same steps hundreds of years ago. Highly recommend you visit.

Cruised to Dover
One of my flatmates has the pleasure of working for a boss who is so rich he doesn't think twice about offering her his red Audi convertible any weekend he's out of town. We took full advantage of his generosity and went on a day trip to some places that I can't remember but were near Dover. There were castles and forts involved, and at one stage I could look over the channel and see France. Curse my overstuffed memory attic.

Visited Manchester
I also had a really good time visiting a Vina-friend in Manchester. I was a bit spoiled as my friend introduced me to some really cool people, and took me to funky bars, quirky cafes and other places I would never have found on my own. I'd definitely like to go back for another peek. Unfortunately I'll have to do the touristy thing next time as my friend has since moved to Birmingham. I could go visit her there instead, but as I was more than a little disturbed by the dress and customs of the local Mancunians, I'm not sure if I'm ready to face a city full of Brummies just yet.

Cruised to Norfolk
Last Sunday was another red convertible day, so we hit the highway and went to Norfolk. There was less climbing over, around and through English Heritage properties than the other road trip (one of my flatmates is recovering from a broken ankle) but lots of top-down cruising beneath shady green canopies and under a clear(ish) blue(ish) sky. Bring it on!

I've no doubt there has been another 40 things happen that I could have written about here, but they're just out of my reach at the moment. I solemnly promise to try very hard to write more regularly from now on. And if I don't, you can assume I've just lost the key to the attic.