- 20:36 Finished playing with melted chocolate and boiling sugar in the kitchen now settling down to watch Slumdog Millionaire. #
- 21:26 @rhino75 Well you learn something new... #
- 22:33 Love, health and happiness in 2010 everyone. I'm off to bed as I'm knackered. #
- 07:08 @electricfields Thanks and you too. #
- 07:10 Am ironing napkins while catching up with The Thick of It. Starting to think this jet-lag is just plain insomnia. #
- 07:58 I'm making a trifle #
- 10:39 Flat is clean(er), trifle's in the fridge, table is set. Time to put my feet up with a cuppa before starting on the main course. #
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- 20:38 @swanny We'll have to have a game. My top score is 94! #
- 20:40 Just been to see Nine with @adders and Dr T. Considering I hate musicals was really good, apart from Kate Hudson, should've been Winslet #
- 20:41 @rhino75 That's true a defeatist attitude at the start is not a good sign. #
- 21:03 Glad I recorded Jonathan Ross while I was away: Rihanna's shoulder pads and learning that you can get sat nav with Eddie Izzard's voice. #
- 08:18 Can someone please explain jet lag: I'm alternating between good and bad nights sleep. Feel most out of sorts this morning as a result #
- 08:39 Please to discover that my AtoZ goes out as far as Bromley. Now need to find my Barbour and wellies as it's virtually rural innit ;0) #
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Who did you meet this year who had a big impact on your life? Did you reconnect with any old friends? Who was there for you through it all?
This is definitely a question that is food for thought and not a quick answer.
Ok. Well in my working life then I'd have to say our new editor has had a big impact mainly because he seems interested in what I do and has re-awakened my creativity.
And personally then I think it is more a case of who has left my life because that has had the biggest impact. There are many people that I have met that have had an impact in some way though, for example meeting Polly who is a Twitter follower and followee and fellow avid theatre fan was great fun and we are meeting up again to go and see something in January.
Meeting the girls in Thailand was also fun and a bit inspirational as it showed me some new possibilities in my life and for similar reason's Vincent who gave some sage
advice.
I did reconnect with an old friend, Anna, whom I used to work with, which was great but need to make a bigger effort next year.
And my friends were there for me when I needed them the most. Jen for these reasons I've already posted but I have to also mention, Kate who has been my lunch time listener and adviser, Chris* who is always at the end of the phone offering sensible advice and making me laugh even when not having the best of times herself, Francesca my neighbour who is just a breath of fresh air and valuable wine buddy and last but not least Nadia who keeps me sane at work and instinctively knows
when not to hug me as it will set me off. And yes she does have a (toy) gun in her hand, how do you think she keeps me sane?
Oh and I mustn't forget Adam who is always the fount of
good sense.
I'm very lucky.
*Sadly can't find a digital pic of Chris so that is something else I need to sort out in 2010
- 20:27 @mikebailey01 Ditto #
- 09:21 @rhino75 I don't know why this made me laugh. Mine is to get up earlier so I can do half an hour of yoga. Yep that's gonna last. #
- 09:26 Right, post holiday washing finally complete need to start sorting the flat out if I'm to allow guests to cross the threshold on Friday. #
- 11:38 Off to Fortnum's to buy chocolate couverture, as you do. #
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- 06:09 Bloomin' jet lag #
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Of course the disadvantage of having no internet access while away is that I come back with enough material for a dozen posts if I had the time to write them. Instead I thought I'd pick out a handful of pictures that represent just some of the highlights. It was hard, there are so many, in fact I cried when I left, something I've only done on one previous holiday (New Zealand).
Pic no.1: Sunset arrival
I'd been awake for nearly 36 hours and just wanted to collapse into bed as soon as I arrived but in order to get to Koh Ngai you take an hours long-tail boat ride and the sun was setting. It was enough to revive the weariest of travellers. That and having to wade through thigh high water to the beach once there because the tide was out and that's the closest the boat could get to shore.
It is a beautiful island. No one lives there it just has a strip of beach with a handful of resorts. They aren't cheek by jowl so there are plenty of quiet spots with only the occasional person walking by. There aren't roads so no street lights, the beach is it. You walk bare foot in the sand to go to dinner or for a drink at a neighbouring resort taking a torch for after dark. There are no hawkers. Oh and you can swim out to the reef from the beach.
After the disappointment of Turkey a lot was riding on the yoga this holiday. Fortunately I had a great teacher in the form of Vincent who has been practicing yoga since he was 17 and is a swami. And we had the most amazing location for our classes. I wanted to finish the week being able to do a head stand again and I did. I also did my first tripod headstand. And of course I will never forget Vincent's pronunciation of the word 'focus'. He's Italian and it sounded like 'fuck-us' which amused my childish sense of humour.
We were a small group of three yogini's and a lovelier couple of people you couldn't meet. This picture was taken on Christmas Day. We hired a long tail boat to take us to another island for some amazing snorkelling and then to the Emerald Cave. It's more of a tunnel than a cave which leads to this little cove. It was used by pirates to hide their swag. When you swim through the 'cave' in the pitch black following only the small torch light of your guide you can understand why it appealed to the pirates.
I arrived with the sunset and departed with the sunrise. It was breathtakingly beautiful and put a smile on my teary face. I took lots of pictures but this one just captures not only the beauty of the colours but also the stillness. It will always take me back to that boat ride.
- 22:30 I'm back! Did anyone miss me? Am sooo glad I asked Andrew from next door to pop heating back on today. #
- 22:31 @Sheardyj Yep, Priscilla Queen of the Desert style. It was truly wonderful. #
- 22:42 Right off to bed. My body thinks it is 5.30am and I've been waking up at 6.45am, so it may only be a nap. #
- 08:47 twitpic.com/vkgqy - This is where I've been for the last 10 days, taken on camera phone. More pics when I can see bedroom floor again #
- 10:28 Sainsbury's delivery has just arrived. Ordered it before Thailand and can't remember what I've boug ht, almost like opening Xmas presents #
- 15:02 First edit of holiday photos completed: 500 down to 178. Need to start being a bit more picky now. #
- 17:15 Want to sleep. Must not sleep. Want to sleep. Must not sleep. Want to sleep. Fetch the match sticks. #
- 18:42 Well it's taken all afternoon but I've finally edited Thailand pics down to the very best (ahem) 160 piccies bit.ly/4zKv0q #
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I said there was no list then went and made up a bunch of projects. There is really no list this year. Well, wait. Yes, there is.
To do in 2010:
1. Beat cancer
If I can just do that, I'll be happy.
It's not a very bad cold. In fact it's one of the milder illnesses I can remember... My sinuses are about 40% stuffed up. My throat is just vaguely scratchy. I'm more tired and achey than usual, but not by much. Nonetheless I am taking the cue and lounging on my couch for the 2nd day in a row, swaddled in blankets, books, and handkerchiefs.
Sometimes when I'm sick I will do a juice & tea fast for the day - to keep myself hydrated and let my body concentrate on killing the virus, rather than digesting complicated foods. So today I've had emergen-c, water, yerba mate, and vegetable juice. And I really must not be all that sick, because I am STARVING. I think I will get some extra-spicy thai food for dinner.
And then perhaps I will watch the Dr. Who xmas special AGAIN! I can't believe it's the 2nd-to-last episode starring David Tennant.
I got a copy of The Talented Miss Highsmith for xmas (Patricia Highsmith's new biography). It's sort of fascinating, especially considering that the author seems to hold a certain amount of (justified) disdain for Highsmith. Apparently she was a racist and anti-Semite. Her personal life was chaotic, despite her solipsistic tendencies (it is even referred to on the inner flap as a "Pandora's Box"). She was an obsessive list-maker and left behind 8,000 pages of journals when she died. Her life is a rich territory. Still, this bio is a bit cumbersome... Mostly I'm interested in reading about writers' writing habits.
Being sick is dull. More tea!
I think I may have finally learned my lesson. No goal list for 2010. I have found that there's a wide gulf between what I plan to do and what I actually do. Mostly this is because of left-field surprises like thyroid cancer because otherwise I am pretty methodical. I have a vague notion of things I'd like to work on for the year: more drawing, more guitar, etc. It's true that creative types need scheduling. And I have that. I plan to start Illustration Saturdays. Basically, I'll take an unillustrated article or listen to a 'This American Life' story and try to capture it visually. I expect no small amount of frustration, but it will be a great learning experience. I also want to re-establish Watercolour Sundays. Obviously, things will have to be flexible because there's another cancer surgery and treatment on the horizon. There's also an idea for a graphic novel kicking around that used to be an idea for a novel. We'll see where that goes. I want to go at it playfully. If it isn't fun, what's the point? In needlework news, I am going to embark on the adventure that is embroidery (this will likely become part of illustrations).
It's really weird how my dreams of illustrating just flew out of my head in October after I heard that there was still a tumour. After my surgery last March, it felt like my right brain went into hyperdrive. Not sure how or why, but drawing and other visual activities took over my brain. I reconnected with a part of myself that I had totally forgotten about. My verbal skills have slowly been catching up. That is weird to say. I mean, I do French to English abstracts and translations full-time. Highly verbal. I've written a novel. Somehow, after the surgery, I lost the concentration for that. Or, rather, needed every ounce for my job and didn't have anything to spare after the work day. Sitting almost entirely still and drawing, however, I have total concentration. Perhaps not surprisingly, the drawing stopped with the ultrasound and biopsy and doctor's visits in October. Being mostly ignored by my cancer team did not do much to boost my confidence or morale. What brought me the most peace left my mind entirely and I was sucked up into doubt and fear and confusion. One day this last week, I went onto my Amazon.co.uk Wish List. I saw illustration and comics books on it and something washed over me. Trust? Faith? Not sure. I had been going in a million directions, but something clicked and I had direction. I am trusting this direction. Where am I going? Not sure. It's like going to a new city, walking around with a bad map and trying to find a landmark. At some point, you see a street and something in you says, 'This will get you to the place you've been looking for.' You turn onto the street with the knowledge that even if it doesn't take you where you need to go, you can always retrace your steps.
In all the planning, I lose the doing. I hope that 2010 will be year of focus, of input, of output, of connection, of discovery, of confidence. Gonna make my own luck this year.
