It's that time again

Sorry (again) for the lack of posting. Here is an apology kitten, because you must have missed them:

It's been really hectic at work, partially because people keep dying and it was a bak holiday weekend so there were only four of us in to deal with them on Sunday (which was really crazy - we were told we had an extra page for extra obituaries at about 6pm, which is usually when people start getting ready to leave on Sundays!) and partly because both today and yesterday the DUR page has had no advert, so we've had a whole page to fill. When I was a mere reader of the page I used to much prefer a full spread of whimsical little snippets. Now I know better. 

Also there have been issues with the computer system (more bank holiday fun) which resulted in me whiting out the background in an old photograph of Queen Victoria on MS Paint. I am now intimately aquatinted with the pixels on the periphery of Queen Victoria, which is not something I ever thought I would say. Nor did I think that a hastily Paint-shopped image by me would ever appear in a national newspaper. Who says I wasted my youth playing with the spray-paint tool? 

The upshot of this all is the above kitten and this quick sign-off.

Goodnight!

Jumanji is a goat wizard

I spontaneously met up with Juamanji in London Town this afternoon, on the grounds that today was my only day off in 10 days so I should do something fun! And indeed we did.

We started with a Targeted Trouser Search in Uniqlo (I rather alarmed Jumanji when I told her I currently only own one pair of trousers, having rid myself of all the pairs that don't fit. I wear a lot of skirts and dresses, what can I say...), which was eventually successful, although I had to leave them behind to be altered as my legs aren't 33 inches long.

For lunch, Jumanji introduced me to Korean food. I'd eaten her mum's cooking before and enjoyed it, but apparently Korean restaurant food is a whole different kettle of fish. We went to Korea corner (near the Hallowed Shopping District) and ate in the Korean Bakery (not really a bakery, but I wasn't complaining). Sadly, I didn't have my camera to show you this crazy cuisine, so here is the internet's best shot:

Image from here

This is something called bibimbap, which is apparently a Korean speciality. It's 'rice and loads of other things', as Jumanji put it, and apparently the correct way to eat it is to mix it all together and cover it in chilli sauce. I love spicy food, so I wasn't about to argue!

I also tried Korean sushi, which is less fish-heavy than the Japanese kind (we had vegetable sushi, which might account for it!) but still very delicious. Jumanji also let me try some of her meal, so I also got to taste some sort of chilli-sauce-covered ricecake and some sort of chilli-sauce-covered fish. It was all very delicious, I have to say!

Afterwards we went to a nearby Korean supermarket where Jumanji bought all sorts of exotic produce. I still can't get over buying mayonnaise in little bags. 

Having made myself hungry again, I'm going to go to bed as I have work in the morning. 

Goodnight!

P.S.: The term 'goat wizard' is trademarked to pandas, so use with caution or fear their furry wrath

Storm front

Image from here

Did anyone else see the storms today? They were pretty awesome - rain sluicing down the windows, sudden darkness, angry giant noises. Our office block was right in the centre for a while, it was very cool! I didn't get any pictures, sadly, but this one will have to do, since we can see Tower Bridge from the office. 

I'm going to have to accept blogging a little less frequently for now, sadly. I've agreed to work every day but one until Thursday, at which point I will be in Scotland visiting my family. I'll do my best, though!

Today was another day of helping people over the phone. It was surprisingly frantically busy, despite the fact we weren't actually putting out any more pages than normal. I think it might have had something to do with Olivia being on holiday and Cat having to write obits all day. You can leave things to me, but there might be occasional mild panic!

I did a couple of New Reader interviews on Tuesday and typed them up yesterday so they'll be in Saturday's paper. They can be the best part of my job (apart from the free chocolate we're occasionally sent) because people are always so excited to talk about their babies. Although I'm not sure why they keep asking if I have children... maybe I sound more grown-up than I think.

That's it for now otherwise I will be breaking my strict new bedtime regulations (OK, 'Be in bed before 23:30').

Goodnight!

Dial R for Register

I'm rushing to bed again, so I bring you my day in the form of the three stand-out phonecalls that rather defined it:

1. The lovely Jamaican-sounding Irishman who wanted my help writing his speech for his daughter's wedding. He was a DUR fan! Surprisingly, I did manage to help. Nicest reader of the day!

2. The woman who phoned to 'give a comment' about Ryan Giggs (as she was apparently too busy to write  a letter/email, despite then talking to me for 20 minutes). Rather surreal - I was trying to eat a gingerbread man and type up an article about the Falklands one-handed while she vented her feelings about sperm banks.

3. The man who I interviewed about his baby daughter. He told me his wife had given birth 'practically painlessly' via hypnobirthing, which seemed to rather irritate her for some reason...

Right, that's it! I did actually spend most of the day on the phone to various people, so I don't have much else to tell you!

Goodnight!

Saturday Spree

Sooo... I said there would be exposition tonight but then I cooked supper and had to skype my parents and finish watching Doctor Who, and now it is past my bedtime. Therefore, a quick projectile-word-vomit (as Normandy would say), and I will be hitting the hay like a horse that just lost at blackjack. (That made much more sense in my head.) 

It was Jumanji all along! And a lot of Japanese food. I didn't realise the set lunch would be quite so generous...

I met Jumanji yesterday after I'd already been to the Oliver Bonas/Mint sample sale in Wandsworth (I know! Get me! (Although I was very restrained and ended up being trapped in the changing room with some extras from Made in Chelsea)) and we went to Sakura (near Regent Street) for an early but delicious lunch before doing some serious shopping. I don't feel too bad about the things I bought, though - all count as appropriate Summer workwear. 

After a lot of shopping, there was pizza! I really, really love vegetables on pizza, I may have mentioned. This one was delicious!

Jumanji snuck me into the the music common room at King's College to eat carrot cake, and I met one of her music-y friends. Then it was a bus to Waterloo for me!

This is me, still alive. I was wearing a pink dress, which proved a surprising hit with various people (and prompted a very generous waiter to 'reduce' a coke to £2 for me). I love Summer and being able to wear dresses without layers!

Right, must collapse now or I won't enjoy work tomorrow! I'm in without Cat or Olivia for support, so I'm going to be answering the phone a lot!

Goodnight!

Dun dun dun!

I had a very busy, very fun day out today. However, I am subsequently good only for curling up and yawning so for now we have a teaser trailer of a blog post - a picture from today. Where was it taken? Who is that in the background? Could I really eat that much food? Tune in tomorrow for another exciting instalment!

In the Summertime

Hello! Remember me? I've been getting quite bad at this blogging lark of late. I blame constantly poking myself in the eye (it makes them want to stay closed!) and general busyness-induced exhaustion, but since when is tiredness an excuse in this day and age? I'm hopefully going to have quite an exciting day tomorrow, so I'll take my camera and brighten up my poor blog!

For now, you'll have to make do with a list of Summer Resolutions. I don't really see the point in making resolutions in January when it's so cold you can't do anything. May is a much better time!

1. Try Pimms. I've never managed to get round to it, and apparently you get fruit in it and stuff! Sounds exciting.

2. Go to the beach. I envisage myself working most of the way through the Summer months, but I really want to make time to chase waves and feel the sand between my toes.

3. Meet up with everyone from Journalism School. I miss them!

4. Go back to Ireland. Maybe I can combine this with 2.

5. Find some comfy Summer shoes

6. More canoeing

7. Take better care of my feet. The poor things are suffering from all the walking!

8. Have lots of picnics

9. Bake more

10. (By special request from Percy!) Get a hat


That's it from me for now. Do you have any Summer Resolutions?

Goodnight!