ok i deliver what i promise (eventually) and as promised here is what i got for xmas against what i wanted:

a maglite torch. actually got a petzl headtorch, which can be used on the head or wrist and runs 150 hours on 3 AAA batteries and has three light settings.
lots of AA and D batteries. dont need as not going on holiday now
DKNY knickers nope.
canon photo printer. nope.
a snazzy type of small alarm clock. dont need one cos not going on holiday butsaw one in gadget shop.
angel perfume. nope.
books for my course. bought one myself.
sennheiser headphones. aha. i bought the sony mdr-EX71SL headphones tax free myself. theyre brillant and really block out the outside noise and theyre the first headphones that i can almost sleep with. and theyre white and fit into my ipod.


i also got
loads of cds, including the streets and goldie lookin chain
wuthering heights and out of africa books
a cup and saucer with zebras on them
star wars box set dvds
moisture surge cream
pink sparkly boob tube for some reason from my sister?

i bought myself
the ipod and headphones
new jeans
new jumper
new purse

not bad including the stuff i got myself.....

it was confirmed today that my holiday isnt going ahead. i also found out that a lady researcher on the project i was to join was killed on sunday. she was three years older than me. i opened a present today from my friend who had given it to me before xmas and i saved it to open after xmas. it was a travel journal and photo album. a week today i would have been flying out to my idyllic island, the 'ideal job' id talked about for years, patrolling the beaches aiding turtle conservation. the people out there who have nothing but their families have had the little they owned, their livelihoods and their families destroyed.

ah so xmas is over for another year. great. it seemed very ironic that the xmas day film in our house was 'great expectations', not only in title but plot. the general themes and story, poor child goes to london, gets posh and has money, finds out money isnt everything and still pines for his first love rings more than true.

and so to my next xmas present. it seems, although as yet unconfirmed, but its pretty likely i wont be going to thailand next week. not yet sure either that insurance covers acts of god but at least i can reschedule my rendering to be done for free. and to top it all it seems that i'll be doing a bridget jones with a bottle of wine and a record collection, singing 'all by myself' loudly on new years eve. boo.

so whats hitting the fan today?

well i found this article about iranian bloggers interesting. i'm glad i probably wont be jailed for bloggin. but its cool that some people can express themselves in a way when most of the time they cant say what they want.

breaking news. fran healy from sagging band travis is shocked africans dont complain about the weather. perhaps having a rock and roll life style made him forget that the weather over here is shit whereas the weather in africa is nice. and its an english thing to do and these people are not english.

am nearly ready for the big eating/tv/present fest that is xmas day. four days of my parents however i am not prepared for. i think i'll just have to teach the cat how to play scrabble.......

this is what i like

meeting my mates, chatting in a nice pub, moving on for curry. the curry house being all decked out with xmas balloons. lots of yummy food and at the end getting a gift each, from either an alarm clock, corkscrew, light-up pen or bottle stoppers. and little whisky and cream shots. and a mini toblerone thing. and rose d'anjou like we had in france. in the hot tub. oh and a lift home. :)

ooh new series of er. whilst im on holiday. boo. lets create another playlist.

sometimes i wish i was an apple.

its very odd to suddenly be more at peace with yourself. some might say up myself. and competitive. and always pointing out mistakes. i think it has something to do with being able to style my hair after 28 years of not being able to.and i cant wait for thailand. some real me time. :)

are all ITV1 dramas now based on lotto winners? at home with the braithwaites, cant buy me love, mine all mine, who wants to be a millionaire.....

ah yes the army ball. it was in fact the captains of the engineers corp who have been in iraq for six months xmas party. it was great. we had five courses, shed loads of wine and it was all free. there were big party 'bombs', crackers and pea shooters which all meant there was lots of mess in 'the mess'. then there was a band and disco with the DJ from the peter kay sketch. god he was miserable.

a crucial element to the mirth and party spirit was our 'secret santa' presents that me and my mate brought. having only been told 'en route' that we needed a £5 pressie each it was a good job i had spotted the 'party party' shop nearby. so one mexican hat with tash and seasonal santa posing pouch later, we made sure the ball was one to be remembered. photos coming soon!

i love my ipod.

its great. just being able to have any cd i like, any combo of tunes is fantastic. and the range of accessories is just magic. i also got 10% off. yay! however going through my cd collection to transfer to the pod i noticed that i have like loads of cds that i never listen to anymore and im not sure whether i should bother transferring them or not. i have 40GB and so far i have loaded 785 songs, about 4 GB and a quarter of the 'collection'. i do see the advantage of when i go home, i can load all my sisters cds and mam and dads (although the latter selection maybe 'weak', they havent even got brothers in arms ffs) and have loads more choice for free. brilliant.

this morning i found myself reading the times magazine being served a double fried egg sarnie cooked by a squaddie. how things change.....

i just realised today im averaging four flights a month.....

and so the hectic party schedule begins. they seem to be as frequent as a perfume advert. this year i get to go to the army ball which should be interesting. im on emergency diet.

my xmas pressnt list if you were wondering what to get me:
a maglite torch
lots of AA and D batteries
DKNY knickers
canon photo printer
a snazzy type of small alarm clock
angel perfume
books for my course
sennheiser headphones

i'll report back with what i actually get

and so life ambles on in the same old routine

got the tube yesterday and beth cordingly who played pc kerry young in soap serial poilce drama 'the bill' was in the carriage. for a normal joe bloggs lady like me, i was glad to discover the pretty, young famous actress has a massive arse. and i me j-lo size. it was huge. great.

went to the fair trade fair. bought a couple of necklaces and a couple of little hand sewn things for my mate so only mams present, and two mates presents to get and i'm done. then we went to gordons wine bar next to embankment tube. its a lovely old old wine bar, serving just wines and port. had some yummy organic red and sat under the bricked curved cellar roofs. one of the girlies i was with, her parents had kindled their romance under the very same bricks thirty years earlier. how sweet. we joked her dad chose the venue cos her mum wouldnt have had much chance of escaping as its quite 'cosy' and that it was so she couldnt see her dad as its quite dark.

so i left the girls to take the rollercoaster (Docklands Light Railway) to my mates housewarming/xmas bash. more mulled and red wine later i was quite mullered. and i paid for it this morning. and no doubt it will be action replay next weekend!

i cant get over this tv thing. xmas will be the olds sitting infront of the box, and its even more depressing with only five channels and an over sensitive mother. i despair how my family can let it take over their lives. its basically a filler until they cark it. lets just watch other people doing something with their lives instead of doing it themselves. another lesson from them in how not to do things.

today was a great example of why i should leave
not bad start until I get on the escalator between bank and monument station. this girl tells me ive sat on something on the tube seat. so theres me standing at the top of the escalators picking off fudge from my £250 dress coat that I wore for the first time this season today. cue bad mood.
so eyes down, focus at work. i manage to complete three monthly reports, update a web page, book flights to cork, claim expenses, fix printer, print expenses, fix fax machine, fax expenses and then basically wait for everyone else to catch up. very busy day for me. i only have to prepare for a meeting next week and complete my access course and thats all my tasks for 2004.
ive written to the cheetah project in botswana to see if i can fit a month out there into my plan. they still havent written back yet. boooo!!!
oh hopefully more piccies tomorrow yay!
ps loving mini mince pies with icing on top like cherry bakewells with mincemeat instead.