i actually started typing this entry yesterday morning after jeff and i got home from a friend's 40th birthday party, but looking at the screen was making me feel queasy and the sound of the keyboard was like stabbing knives of sound in my poor, delicate, alcohol abused brain.

i have, actually, had a really great weekend. jeff's sister got married on friday. it was a really really nice wedding, great venue, yummy food, beautiful bride and groom. the only disappointment for me was that i had been previously told that there was always a brawl at english weddings, and all the guests at this one were far too lovely, so no fisticuffs were seen! it's always a let down when a cultural stereotype is a no show!

on saturday night we went to a 40th birthday party in a place called the hibernian club (or the hibs for short). it's basically a hall with a bar at the back, and i'm pretty sure the décor hadn't been changed since the mid sixties, judging by the wallpaper! and it had that sort of inground smell that was a mixture of stale beer, smoke, damp and body odour. still, fun was had, drinks were consumed, well, until the bartender said he was shutting the bar at 11 so that he could go downstairs and get his own drink on.

so yesterday was spent in a number of horizontal poses, involving eating crisps or sleeping. this wa only disturbed by the kids knocking for candy for halloween. this is the first time i've ever had trick or treaters! i found myself at a bit of a loss as to what to say when i opened the door. it strikes me as odd that there is a yearly tradition of basically asking strangers for candy, something i was always told was a sure fire way to end up in a ditch somewhere! but, never fear, i wasn't a mean old witch, candy was supplied. apparently i have to get ready for kids to come knocking on bonfire night asking for a penny for the guy (which i'm lead to believe is not some man sending his kids out to get him small brown coins, but is some sort of thing that you burn on your bonfire? i think...)

anyhoo, here are some photos.


this is alnwick castle (pronounced annick) where some of the first harry potter was filmed.

the handsome bride and the beautiful groom


enmasked

well, folks, i find myself in somewhat of a pickle this morning. as i think back over the last week, i'm at a loss for anything funny, insightful, or interesting to write about. which is a little disheartening because it implies that i'm now stuck in a routine, and makes me think of running off into the misty yonder to find adventure and snacks!

i did try tea cakes, which are a biscuit with a big marshmallow on top covered with a thin layer of chocolate. the marshmallow is the consistency of mock cream. not sure that i liked it much, bit too sweet for me. i did however indulge in kebab meat and chips last night, which is fast becoming my new guilty pleasure take away treat.

geordie's think of kebab meat much as we might think of ham, or salami. yes, you can get it in a traditional kebab with salad and garlic sauce, but you can also get it, as previously mentioned, with chips and gravy, on a pizza, in a bun with gravy. i personally think it's awesome, always having had a secret love of kebab meat.

food wise, it actually has been great being back in a western country, where there are baked beans on tap and i never want for salt and vinegar chips or fruit! one thing i have noticed recently though is british people (get ready for a sweeping generalisation) eat a lot of crisps! or perhaps it's just the people i work with. but the deliciously savoury snack does seem to be a favourite here. and sausage rolls. and curries.

next week i will hopefully have some pictures of a castle to show you. i have demanded that jeff takes me to one tomorrow. oh and there's a wedding as well.

lately

i know i'm a bit late with my posting this week, but i woke up yesterday morning and thought, stuff it, i'm having a day off from everything! i have emerged from said day satisfied, relaxed and pondering jeff's theory that all the odd star trek movies are crap but all the even ones are good. all 10 movies are being played back to back this weekend.

the past week has been one of heavy contemplation. i find myself in the midst of a career crisis, desperately trying to find some direction or sense of purpose when it comes to my working life.

my company had staff conferences last week, and as i sat in the crowd, cringing at the group activities, i thought to myself, i'm on the wrong side of the table. where i really want to be is up there, with all the big bods, making decisions (like a boss), being leadery (like a boss), signing off policies (like a boss). so, the obvious answer seems to be to work my up there.

the problem is that this job that i have now, i've been here before. i started at the bottom, worked my way up into head office, but then upped sticks and went to japan. so now i feel like i've taken a massive step backwards. and if i'm completely honest with myself, i went to japan partly to avoid thinking about careers, and directions and goals. i don't regret going to japan, but i do feel like past kristi could be inordinately lazy at times, and i wish she'd sorted herself out before now.

so, the end result of these rather pessimistic musings, is that i'm now considering new paths, directions, goals (insert other appropriate self-help lingo here).

so far i've come up with childminder, kindergarten teacher, writer, and opening an izakaya. all of these things i feel that i'm capable of doing (well, the writing thing, i would have to be a damn sight less lazy than i am now, but we can all fly in our daydreams!) of course, actually doing anything about it an entirely different situation!

observation for the week:

british people think like they're in a village; australian people think like they're on an isolated farm.

so, you know how last week i mentioned that i had seen english fog? well i think the country may have taken that as a challenge, along the lines of "that aint fog! THIS is fog."

yesterday morning when i left for work it was foggy. it's still foggy now! and this was proper can't see more than 70 feet in front of you fog, which is ok when you're walking, but when you're in a metal box with wheels (otherwise known as a car), it forces you to drive ridiculously slow, whilst deliberately not thinking about the movie, the mist!

and it stuck around all day! i kept thinking why is the sun not burning it all away, and then i remembered that i don't live in scorchy land anymore, where the sun rules all.

i took a picture of what it looks like outside this morning.


i kind of like the fog, though jeff assures me that it can get worse than it was last night, which adds yet another dimension to my driving fears!

speaking of, we finally bought a second car, and i am now the proud owner of a nissan micra (insert other car details here). it's red and boxy, and whines if it gets above 65 miles an hour! i haven't named it as yet, but my affection for it is slowly growing.

culturally phenometastic

in my head i have a loosely assembled list of things that i think of as being essentially english. the things on this list come from a variety of places, tv, movies, girls annuals, enid blyton.

here's some of the things i've seen so far.

a canteen with proper canteen ladies.
a farmer wearing tweed.
a camp of gypsies (caravans and all).
a cleaning lady with rollers in her hair.
a caff (or greasy spoon).
chavs.
proper fog.
little villages with stone houses.
moors (pronounced moo-ers, very important).
stiles (for getting over fences).
canal boats.
a hedgehog.

here are some things that i want to see.

a miniature village.
the seaside (loosely described as brighton i think).
the queen.
an oxford professor riding a bicycle.
someone actually drinking bovril.
an aristocrat.
a badger.
a mole.

contemplating my list got me wondering what other people think of as english, or british. or welsh, irish, or scottish for that matter. so, i encourage you to let me know, and i'll add it to my list and let you know when i've spotted it!

and now for something completely different...

jeff and i are off to buy a second car today. this will actually be the first time i've gone to a car yard to look at and possibly purchase a car. i'm hoping that my expectation of being harangued by a car salesman will turn out to be unfounded (whilst secretly hoping that he does as it will give my fuel for my blog fire!).

i feel like i am in a very strange and unfamiliar place, where we buy household appliances and have serious conversations about investing and retirement. somehow it's snuck up on me, but i seem to have become a grown-up. i wonder, does this mean i have to start drinking sherry, and despairing at the follies of the young?