World Update #1

It's about time I updated you on London Happenings rather than sending you

jokes all the time. I'm here at work, around 9pm, after finishing a 12

something hour day. Listening to PM Dawn on the CD player (yeah yeah "Who are

they?" I hear you ask."Didn't they copy ABC's song some years ago?" All I can

say is YES they are old & YES they are the ones to copy ABC). Listen now.

Where to start? Well I guess top of the list has to be that I am once again

part of a twosome. This is a rather peculiar story....

Sue and I have known each other for about 4 years. We both worked for the same

accounting firm in Wellington, NZ (NZ seems a distant memory already).

Actually, Sue's first job at Deloitte was doing a job which I used to do and I

supervised her doing. She did a much better job than me.

Funnily enough we both shifted to London at different times & yet still managed

to find each other at the same workplace in London! Must have been a sign. It's

strange yet really comfortable going out with someone you have known soooo long & it amuses both of us. 

Anyway, needless to say I am walking around with this big smile on my face &

having a really cool time.

Other (less important) happenings are that I have enrolled for (get this) a

GCSE English course from Oxford Open Learning. To give you some idea what level

this is think of what you were doing in english classes at the age of 15. Yep

15.I never passed english when I was 15 and have been bluffing my way along

ever since. Actually it has been bothering me for some time and now that I have

taken the step to enrol I am really looking forward to studying.

I feel like my brain cells have been dieing ever since I arrived here. It's

almost a physical thing. I've also been looking at courses which will

effectively change my career. I would like to have my own business which would

be called "Physical & Financial Fitness". The idea being that I solve peoples

heath & money problems to give them a better life. Sounds a little crass I know

but I miss having a direct influence on peoples lives. Back at work in NZ the

things I did had a more or less direct impact on my clients financial

wellbeing. Over here I am a wheel in a very large cog.

On the training theme I would also like to learn: Spanish, Italian, French &

Swedish. Mum will be saying "Where have I heard this before?". I have a lot of

dreams but I feel like they will actually come to happen over here. Not

overnight but I have time on my hands at the moment.

what else did I have to say...

The flat is getting a bit too much for me at the moment. It is in such a state

that it is not very inviting - too dirty & stuff lying all over the place.

Sue's flat however is a beauty! When I go there it is like leaving the slums &

going to the Ritz. Lucky for me she lives only 2 tube stops away. Travel time

between our places is only 15min. She is entertaining friends tonight & I

wasn't invited because she has only 4 plates & I would be the fifth person

there. No really I had to work late.

Been blading a couple of weekends now & I'm getting into it. Still a bit

hesitant to buy some roller blades of my own as I usually get into these things

- spend heaps of money and then forget them. I have a few friends who are

interested too so maybe we can encourage each other to get out a bit. It is

such a cool way to travel around & so easy too. I can zoom from home to

ultimate in such a short space of time & it makes for a great warm up.

We, First Touch, just won the B grade of UK nationals for ultimate. This was a

brilliant end to a tough season. All the team are now motivated to getting

better for next year and we also have a number of people wanting to join our

team. Not bad for a team which is in it's second nationals. Oh, being top of B

grade means that we rank 9th in the overall standings in the UK.

I'm in the best shape of my life at the moment but have not been out training

for a few days due to work pressures and I am really feeling fat. I still eat

heaps & that is dangerous for an accountant who sits on his bum all day long.

Most exercise I get is to go out and buy food! Would you believe that food is

easily my largest expense over here. Even bigger than rent!

Travel. I thought I might try to squeeze a few trips in in the coming months.

Check this out:

Oct/Nov: Sweden

Dec: Sweden or Switzerland

New Years: Edinburgh - watch for me on the TV!

Jan: Skiing in Switzerland

Feb: ultimate in Hawaii

Mar: ultimate in Italy

Apri: Hmmm nothing yet

May: ultimate in Rotterdam

June/july: 2 months in Sweden. I need to do some sweet talking here to score

some accomodation with the relatives - Hej Annika/Maud/Johan!!! (my cousins &

auntie).

If that is not enough I went horse riding for the first time last weekend. Wow

what a buzz! I was really nervous as for some reason I was scarred of horses.

Note the past tense. I went with a couple of friends from ultimate who had been

before and they were giving me a real hard time on the way there. They said

that I would be riding Nellie & she was something of a horse. I thought they

meant something like a fiesty horse but no. Nellie was not fiesty but she was

HUGE. She made the other horses look like ponies. As we were such mixed group

the instructer pitched the course at the level of my friends which meant that

on my first lesson (even before I had any idea how to hold the reins!) I was

doing rising trotting!!! Luckily I was being lead around the paddock. I think

the instructor didn't consider that being a male on a horse for the first time

that trotting might be just a bit painful. Vicki who was leading the horse was

getting tired from the trotting & so was Nellie as she had been out on a long

hack previously. But I reckon that I was shortest of breath each time I hit

that saddle!

Well that's rather a long speil for me. Hope you are all having as much fun as

me. 

Please pass this onto anyone who does not have email & say hi from me.

Lots of love to you all