Hmmmm

The fence around my front yard is gone. When did that happen?

There are days

There are days when I can only think of
You.

There are days that begin with the thought of
You,

And end with the remembered
moments
places
glances
times
(so few, really).

(isn't that sad?).

And I talk to You in the dark.
In whispers that only my Soul can hear.

(isn't that sad?).

The September Issue

I really wanted to see The September Issue when it was in cinemas but I managed to miss it. I found it on DVD today and it was a really interesting perspective on Vogue and the world of fashion. It's not a world I tend to inhabit or find particularly interesting. What was interesting was seeing how they came up with ideas for shoots and designs, and how those ideas were carried out. I do wonder about the more editorial side though, because the film really focussed heavily on the images and designs. Although that said, isn't that the base of Vogue?

One thing that did jump out at me though was that this is a magazine driven by some insanely strong, ambitious women. I think I'd find them terrifying on a daily basis!

I really like fly on the wall documentaries, and this one was a lot of fun. It almost makes me want to buy a copy of Vogue. Almost.

Getting old

I went to a surprise party yesterday for one of my good friend's 30th birthday. Her husband invited us all to a really great restaurant and then we did the "surprise!" part and ate a lot of food and drank some really nice red wine and had champagne. And as I was sipping my champagne I realised that I was the only single person there.

In the day to day, my oneness doesn't really cross my mind to be honest, although just lately, with so much going on, and so many new discoveries I've made, and places I've gone, and great meals I've eaten, it sometimes strikes me that it would be pretty nice to share them with a plus one!

But back the restaurant, where I'm choking on my champagne. Yes, I think that it's the time in my life I'm hitting now. I really am getting old.

The joy is in the details

Waking up on a Saturday morning with the bare bones of a plan in place, knowing only that in the late afternoon there will be tea with a good friend. Now to fill in the bones. Deciding which train to take, and whether to have a cup of coffee on the journey. Selecting the two books that deserve to accompany me. Wondering if I should take my ipod, but deciding against. Planning my journey across the city, with my well-thumbed guide in hand. Working out the distances and wondering about the weather. And then setting out on a trip.

I like Satudays.

Dear Michelle Harrison

I finally read Thirteen Curses (it's been hanging around my TBR pile for weeks), and I have to say, unfortunately it's not as compelling as Thirteen Treasures.

The story starts well, but then moves around in fits and starts. Doom arrives but is speedily worked out, then doom arrives again. There's too much going in this book and I thought it served neither of the story lines well to be jammed into this one volume.

Rowan still bugged me with her weirdly adult voice and stubborn attitude, but perhaps you created her that way? In which case, well done! It worked.

I know that ultimately this is a teen book, but I think it could have done with being a little longer and a little more in depth. It's a good story and it deserved that.

At least someone finally admits that fairies are creepy little fuckers.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll try your hand at next.

Report back

Yes. I love my new job. I like the vibe. I like the fact that I'm learning something new. I like the fact that it's education. I like that it's editing again. I like that they're going to pay me a decent salary. I like that the campus is pretty with decent places to walk at lunch.

So:

1) I hope they extend my contract,

2) I hope it stays as interesting as it is right now.

Which way is up?

I was watching a fascinating documentary tonight on the origins of cartography, and how maps have reflected imperialism and the thirst for conquest down the ages.

One of the mapmaking techniques they focussed on was Polynesian, and they were observing that while "western" cartographers focussed on north as the dominant direction, Polynesian navigators made west their focus. The person they interviewed was saying that west makes the most sense, because everything travels to the west - the sun, the wind, the tides.

The other interesting thing he was talking about was how the original Polynesian maps didn't depend on geographical accuracy. If an island was a big deal in folklore, then it was made bigger on the map. So in order to understand the map, you needed to be part of the culture that created it.

The focal point of the maps was the canoe the navigator was in, because that was the world right there. A tiny canoe, trying to cross endless water.

Science is written in stone

Art on campus, originally uploaded by liz_isabella.

The cat whisperer

It feels like every single neighbouhod cat has come for a visit today. The black one was the bravest, he came by twice, and when I frightened him by coming into my room unexpectedly, he shot of here like a bat out of hell. The tabby glared at me from the patio. And I just looked up to see a orange and white one observing me from behind the glass doors, in a way that makes me very uncomfortable.

Perhaps they're visiting scientists and I'm of interest to them?

I think my housemates are trying to kill me

I just found one of the gas plates on in the kitchen, merrily burning away, slowly poisoning the atmosphere.

Wow, I feel safe.

Friday

The best kind of Friday. A week worked. A job well done. Time spent doing something I enjoy.

Now? The hope that it will stay good, and that nothing will come along and ruin it.

Ah yes, there's a cloud in every silver lining.

The weirdest stuff lives in my brain

Dis heerlike lente, die winter's verby;
weer nooi berg' en klowe vir jou en vir my.
Hol-la-dri-o-ha, hol-la-dri-o.
Hol-la-dri-o-ha, hol-la-dri-o!

Die bergklim is heerlik, dit hou mens gesond.
Die vroe-, vroeë môre het goud in die mond.
Hol-la-dri-o-ha, hol-la-dri-o.
Hol-la-dri-o-ha, hol-la-dri-o!

The Secret Garden

You know spring is on the way when I feel a yen to read The Secret Garden and watch the lovely movie they made of it.

There's just something about it that embodies the expectation of spring.

I think it's only now that I've experienced winter as a definite and separate and long and cold and snowy season, that I can appreciate, really appreciate, the light and life that spring brings.

Even though I miss having a spring birthday.

And where exactly have you been?

Busy. I've been very busy.

I've left Large Retailer at last and started a fantastic new job at Large University (well, it's fantastic so far, but it is only my second day). I was happy to leave Large Retailer, because I really had had enough. But, really, as unexpected deviations in my life plan go, it really turned out ok, didn't it? Decent pay, made new friends, relative freedom. And I ended on a high note, with people sad to see me go and saying nice things about me, and my shallow little heart grew two sizes. I never felt that at Magazine Purgatory until my leaving drinks, where my boss admitted that I wasn't too bad really. Gee thanks.

So now I'm at Large University and I'm excited and happy and really hoping that good things come from it. And then I can finally move out of the Hellmouth and just commute in instead!

So that's where I've been. Oh, and I've also been to Rochester and London. Rochester has the biggest secondhand bookshop in England. It's called Baggins and I'm going to have to go back for the express purpose of visiting that shop again.

Where have you been?