Ciao!

I'm off for a long weekend to Rome with James. Cia bellas!

Pack Your Bags

I'm travelling alone next year for two months. I have only just decided my route but I'm pretty scared about how I'll fare on my own. My mode of travel between each country will be buses and trains and I'll be camping on designated sites or bush camping most of the way through (considering that I refuse to go to Glastonbury because I don't like being dirty, this is my idea of being brave). I told my mum about my plans and she keeps telling me I won't come back alive. Note to self: Parents do not need to know everything. It's not just my mum though, everyone I've spoken to has encouraged me to book an organised tour with a reputable company as they all think I won't be okay alone. I am shying away from booking a tour because 1) I quite like the idea of being independent 2) I can think of nothing worse than being stuck with people I don't like for two months and 3) I don't like the idea of giving so much money to a big company, I would rather give it to the locals where I am travelling.

There's a picture below showing my general route. Let me know if you have travelled this route before with or without a tour operator or know somebody who has.

Bon Iver

I have spent the last week listening to Bon Iver's For Emma Forever Ago. Emotional as f*ck doesn't describe it. Bon Iver broke up with his girlfriend and he was so affected he left his home, his friends and band to live in a cabin in the woods for several months. Whilst there he wrote For Emma. I have never heard heartbreak articulated so well. It makes me want to cry because it takes me right back to the time when I broke up with Derek last year. Lyrics like "Someday my pain will mark you" and "Solace my game, it stars you" (The Wolves Act I and II) for some reason just cut right through me. He's playing at the Victoria Apollo for one night only in December. I've bought the tickets for James as a Christmas present (he intro'd me to it).

Battle of the Bulge

On the 1st of October I decided to make my New Year's resolutions early. Instead of reaching the New Year and feeling like, I have once again, not achieved the goals I set myself, I decided to start working on the resolution now. Predictably, my resolution was to hit the gym and lose half a stone. I have been going 3 times a week now and I have still not lost weight. My body fat percentage is 5% lower (yes, I know that muscle weighs more than fat) but the bloody scales still aren't shifting!! It's so frustrating that I just want to give up. I just don't understand why I can't lose 7 pounds when you constantly hear about people losing 7 stone in the same time period. What's even more annoying is that the more I think about it, the hungrier I get, the more I want a nice yummy curry.

President Obama

This morning I woke up too scared to switch my TV on. James tried to get me to stay up all night with him to watch the results roll in but I gave up at 2am. I then heard my seven year old niece singing "Obama! Obama!" as she was getting ready for school and I knew that Americans had finally done the right thing, why the hell else would a seven year old know who Obama was? The 'finally' in that statement might seem a tad harsh but we have to remember that I am not alone in having spent the last 8 years shaking my head at the thought that Bush was actually elected and did not stage some elaborately planned coup. I honestly never thought I would live to see a black president outside of 24. While I'm loathe to focus on the fact that Obama is black, one cannot deny just how momentous the election of Barack Obama is for black people around the world.

As Cleopatra Jones said, thank God the world will finally see an entirely different view of black culture and life that doesn't revolve around guns, drugs or hip hop.

My one wish is that we, in Britain could be so interested in our own politics.

Now, lets all pray he doesn't fuck it up and that he really does have the best security team protecting him.

Living Problems

I don't plan on blogging about James a lot. Aside from being boring for you lot, first, I don't think it sets a good precedent and second, I'm thinking about letting him read the blog.

James and his flatmate had a big bust up last night. I stay over at James' 2-3 times a week. James never stays at mine because I live at home. The flatmate stays at his boyfriend's about 3 times a week. Raising this issue for the second time in 6 weeks, the flatmate argued that he should only pay for 4 days a week worth of utility bills and either James or I should subsidise the remaining cost. The fact that the flatmate lives in the same complex as his boyfriend therefore allowing him to easily stay over there doesn't figure in the flatmate's mind.

Now this has made me super mad. Especially the accusation that I'm getting a cushy deal by staying at James' rent-free for 2-3 nights a week. I have lived with several people and this kind of arrangement has never been an issue. It's pretty normal and is just the flatmate's way of trying to save a buck at the cost of a friendship. The horrible thing is that now I don't even want to go over there so in a way he's got his way anyway.

Am I wrong?

Thrifty Living

I never seem to have any money. This is real bad as I want to travel next summer, and apparantly, this requires money. After googling "make money fast - legal", I hit on the ebay idea. I have started selling all the crap my ex gave me: brand new boots that were too high, a watch that I can't wear anymore, another pair of boots that were too big, a cape I would never have worn, gold cuff links he left on my drawer and so on. (The fact that so many of the ex's presents lay unworn/untouched shows just how little he knew me!). I now have a rule: if I want to buy something, I have to sell something first to cover the cost. It's working brilliantly! I've made £60 in two weeks. Why oh why did I never think of ebay before?

Another money-making idea I came up with is car boot sales. I used to love these when I was little. Of course when I was little I wasn't nursing a hangover on Sunday morning and was happy to be up at the crack of dawn. But still, it's a great way to clear out your house. Over dinner, I asked my mother if I could clear out her closet. She almost fainted at the offer but quickly came around again when I told her I wanted to sell the stuff I clear out!

Of course, all my efforts were ruined when I discovered a receipt for £40 worth of cocktails tucked into my jeans from Saturday night.

Any other money-making ideas welcome.