Ruleschange

I'm going to give fair warning to any boy unfortunate enough to be reading this: I'm about to go on about clothes.

You may be wondering where I've been. Having an epiphany, that's where! I realised the other day that when I go clothes shopping, I immediately disregard a large proportion of the clothes that initially catch my eye because they go against my 'rules'. For anyone who doesn't use the rules system or something similar, here are a few examples of features that break my rules (meaning I assume they won't suit me/are unacceptable in modern society/aren't suitable for my age/figure/height/political orientation):

• Anything overly baggy (swamping)
• Anything backless/strapless/plunging (require complicated bras/sellotape)
• Anything skintight
• Playsuits/jumpsuits/unitards/anything you have to completely take off to go to the loo
• Corsets or anything push-up-y (I'm not that desperate for attention)
• Anything see-through 
• Animal print
• Slogans likely to offend my mother
• Shorts
• Any skirt/dress that falls past my knees (I'm short, OK?)
• Stripper shoes

There are many more, but you get the idea. It's exhausting! So now I have a new rule: try it on. This might not sound groundbreaking, but it's a surprisingly difficult concept to get used to. I usually only want to make a trip to the changing rooms for clothes I have a good idea will suit me, mostly to get a good idea of size and a second opinion from the mirror. Trying on masses of stuff would be exhausting! Also, my rules are tied up in my identity, shallow as that sounds. I go for clothes that are much like my other clothes, because they're 'me', I can see them fitting in to my wardrobe and will feel like myself when I wear them. 

There's also the issue of insecurity. I like to think I have a fairly balanced idea of how I look, and tend to blame the style of clothes rather than my own body when I try something on and look horrendous, but I know a fair few girls whose day can be ruined if they try on something unflattering. Taking the plunge with no rules to protect me, there's a chance that a losing streak on the clothes-choice front could get wearing (pun not intended). 

Still, I have decided to be brave. Since my resolution I have been shopping far too much, and here is some of the fruit of my new fearlessness: 

OK, so I'm mostly excited about prints now. 

Right, off to bed now. I had an alarmingly productive day today, and am absolutely knackered as a result.

Goodnight!

Socks!

Yes indeed. Today I bought some new socks. Aren't they pretty?

I also went to see Submarine with Lady Zorro this evening, followed by a much-anticipated trip to Nandos! It was delicious although the restaurant was rather noisy, and we had an excellent time. The film was quite funny, but in a mildly horrifying sort of way. It also featured the most impressive on-screen mullet I've seen this year!

It's been raining very hard this evening, although it was still very warm in London when I left. Being able to wander around with only a cardigan for warmth is still very odd.

Going to sleep now. I've been catching up on Doctor Who, but hopefully I won't have nightmares!

Goodnight!

Trafalgar Day

You may be aware that there is currently a high-stakes, hotly contested debate going on in the UK. I am referring, of course, to the Autumn Bank Holiday. Should we have one? Do we have enough? When should it be? What should it be called? Should there be special celebrations?

I am a staunch supporter of Trafalgar Day, not because of any particular patriotism or respect for Nelson, but because it's my birthday. Just think, a free day off on my birthday every year! It would be like everyone was celebrating me!

In other news, it is currently raining heavily. This bodes well on the not-getting-crisped-by-a-wildfire front (apparently a new danger in Broken Britain), and is also making the air smell amazing. It's also excellent timing - I got to walk home and enjoy a very pleasant evening, with warm breezes and twilight and the like, and now it's conveniently raining when I no longer wish to go outside. Maybe it will even stop before the morning...

My parents also get a mention tonight, as I had a very lovely phone conversation with them earlier. I am sure they expected me to go to bed earlier... They finally have a weekend off, and are apparently going to be filling it with things. I've started doing this - no sooner do I have time off than I start coming up with useful or fun things to do with it. Whatever happened to lazing about? Must be a sign of adulthood or something...

Actually going to bed now, so I can do things with my weekend! (I feel so old!)

Goodnight!

Gah

'Gah' pretty much sums up my mood this evening. Still tired, and even thinking is getting to be too much effort! I did manage to get to bed quite early, but apparently all my hard work sleeping is quite easily undone by general business in the daytime.

I also have a headache, which I am putting down to The Chair. I should probably explain how a seat can hurt my head.

I don't have a set desk at work, as there are lots of temporary people who come in only on certain days so there is quite a lot of desk-jumping. More senior people who are in every day and get their own desks, complete with their own furniture, should they wish it. One of the Eds (editors! There aren't a lot of Edwards at work, although it would be cool if there were) is away this week, so today I was relocated to his desk. I've sat their before, and it is not comfortable, and this is all down to The Chair. My problems with it are manifold:

1. My feet don't touch the ground. Not only is this embarrassing, it does funny things to my legs after a while, but apparently The Chair was designed for tall people only, because I can't find a way to adjust the height.

2. The swivel is just a bit too effective, which can be an issue if you are a habitual fidget like me and there are sharp-edged filing cabinets at knee height.

3. The headrest. None of the other chairs have headrests! This one is exactly the right height for my head to almost fit under it, so every time I lean back it catches the top of my head. This leads to a lot of neckstrain, which is what I am blaming my headache on!

4. The armrests. Like the rest of The Chair, they are designed for a much bigger person than me and thus closer to armpit height. Not comfy!


Yes, I have been reduced to complaining about a piece of furniture. More riveting tales from the journalistic frontline tomorrow!

Goodnight!

Unexpected day off

Yesterday I got to pick whether I would have today or tomorrow off, having worked on bank holiday Monday. I picked today for reasons mostly involving tiredness. I was able to get quite a lot done, including (finally!) my hair. (Which is the reason I am smiling beatifically down on my post today. Like it?) I went to the same hairdressers as last time (I consider £25 to be a reasonable price, and they seem to have a policy of not even washing your hair until you and the hairdresser have reached a mutual understanding of what is going to happen to your hair, which is very comforting!) and had a different hairdresser but am still quite pleased. I didn't want anything earth-shattering, and I thankfully didn't get it (although apparently my preference in fringes is decidedly avant-garde).

I also made an effort to get some boring bank stuff done (they were busy, but I succeeded in acquiring the direct telephone number of one of the suited advisor guys for future appointment booking purposes), stocked up on toiletries and did a small amount of clothes shopping. Small in terms of prices, that is! I am definitely going to be doing more shopping in Woking in the middle of a workday - so much less crowded! I had a few nice chats with random people, barely had to stand in any queues and was able to peruse bargains at my leisure. All in all, very satisfactory!

I'm going to bed now as I promised myself an early night. Hope everyone else had a surprisingly pleasant Wednesday!

Goodnight!

The Late Late Show

... is a TV programme in Ireland. I saw Tony Blair on it once, but that's another story.

Some news happened today. For anyone currently under a rock, Osama bin Laden is dead. Living in newspaperland as I do, this has taken up quite a lot of my thought processes today. For example, we threw out all the other obits for several pages of official obituary and retrospectives. Doesn't that kind of count as an honour? What if fundamentalists cut it out for their scrapbooks?

The one thing I'm definitely not OK with is the celebrations. Not so much over here as in America. Every time there's a flag-burning or an anti-west rally or suchlike, people over here are scandalised. Everyone was very uneasy about the Lockerbie Bomber's joyful reception in Libya. If you're going to take that kind of moral highground, I'm afraid you can't then have massive parties outside the White House because someone's died. It's just not on.

Anyway, it's pretty late (clever title reference!) so I'm going to bed on a disapproving note tonight.

Goodnight.

Wild times

This weekend will be remembered around the world as the weekend my gang from university got back together and formed a crime-fighting team! OK, so not much crime was actually fought, but Whizzkid cracked down on litter.

Yes, today we see the reappearance of Whizzkid and Percy, and the first appearance of Giovanni (whose nickname isn't miles from his real name, really), who is from the same era, and just as awesome except Italian. Whizzkid and Percy were both back in London Town for the Easter holidays, being pampered students who actually get holidays, and Percy nagged Giovanni (who does Science for a living, and so does not get weeks and weeks of his life back either) into joining us all for food and fun times. 

I'm mostly just going to bombard you with pictures now.

Us! In Trafalgar Square, though you can't tell from the picture

We met up yesterday evening and went to Ed's Easy Diner near Leicester square for dinner. It was pretty tasty, and we were all impressed by the milkshakes. There was also an oldfashioned jukebox, which was awesome. 

After dinner, we went to Trocadero for arcade games, where we discovered Elevator Death Parade, which is a shoot-y type game where you play as people taking a lift through a building filled with mooks and mutants. The game has actual sliding doors on the front, which are integral to gameplay. I can't explain it in a way that will fully express how awesome it was, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Frozen yoghurt is serious business

I persuaded Whizzkid to use his 'omnitool' (smartphone to you and me) to lead us to SNOG for frozen yoghurt. It was excellent, with the yoghurt and the colour-changing ceiling surpassing expectations as usual. 

Then today we went to Regent's Park for a picnic, and then London Zoo!

Power walking. Don't ask

Some of the animals

This is the craziest butterfly I have ever seen. That guy thinks so too

A well-earned break

Toucan! Something something... Guinness

Llamas, alpacas and donkeys

All in all, an excellent weekend!

Goodnight!