I have now been living with Dot for 8 weeks and it has been a serious roller coaster ride. I have had days when I have been thrilled to be living with her and making some kind of "difference" in someone else's life, and days when I have been at my absolute wits end. I though I would do a round up of some of the things that have happened over the last couple weeks.
Getting locked out of the house
Dorothy has a habit of locking all the doors and windows etc before going to bed...which is a good habit, unless I have not come home yet. I come home at least once a week to a locked front door and the key still in the lock on the inside. So I have no way of getting into the house. I ring the doorbell incessantly to no avail before giving in a calling her son to get her to open the door. She often opens the door with a cheeky smile on her face which makes me suspect she knows I'm out there and is enjoying seeing me freezing my butt off!
Missing teeth
A couple mornings Dot has decided to hide her teeth. The first time was quite a shock as I hadn't realised she has falsies! The fact that they were perfectly white and straight should have been a give away but I like to think the best of people! Anyway as she whistled good morning to me I realised I would have to locate the damn teeth or else should would have some trouble eating her breakfast so began a house wide search eventually finding them on the far side of the bath.....which is a perfectly logical place to keep them????
Midnight raids
A couple nights a week Dot gets up at 10 or 11 thinking it is morning time and gets dressed. I try persuade her to get back into bed as the thought of her sleeping on the couch all night breaks my heart, however this usually turns into another hour affair and she come to check ever 5/10 minutes that it is night time and she must go to bed. Even if I lock my door she will stand there and rattle to door knob till I open the door and confirm that it is in fact night time!
Thursday the fourth of June
I spent the day trying to convince Dot that the only place in the TV guide where you can find the words Thursday 4 June was along the side of the page and not in the actual TV listing. I was like her brain was on loop and all she could think about was finding these words. I actually didn't know whether to laugh or cry!
On the whole I'm happy with Dot. I get comfort from the fact that she would be so lonely if she was on her own and I know she enjoys having me there (most evident by the fact that she will not go to bed if I am still up no matter how tired she is!!!!!!!) My friends have had some laugh at my expense so they're loving the experience and the hard days soon pass. I guess I have many more months of craziness to look forward to!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Day Dot
Today I moved in with Dorothy, an 85 year old women who is deaf and has a spot of Alzheimer's. I am hoping to live with her for the next year to 18 months and, in an effort to maintain my own sanity, and to record my time with her, I have decided to start blogging again.
So day one has come and gone. Dorothy's son was here when I arrived to settle me in and explain the ins and outs to me. I spent the afternoon unpacking some of my stuff - trying to ram my clothes into the tiny cupboard - but eventually I had to go downstairs and chat to old Dot. Turns out I have no idea what to chat to an old lady about. So after about 5 mins I popped upstairs to google "talking to people with Alzheimer's". Needless to say google was less than helpful but armed with such tips as speak slowly and clearly (a real gem that one, don't think I could have figured that out on my own)I headed back down. Turns out if I just sit quietly next to her the conversation will come to me - one specific conversation - what was my name again? And what time am I going to work? and what time will I be back? I must have answered each of these at least 10 times over a 2 hour period. At one point while trying to help her take her evening pills she handed me the HUGE pill box and asked me if there was anything in there I wanted.
The slight downside to living with Dot is when she does something crazy, like put 1p coins in her hot chocolate, she doesn't remember doing it and I am the only other person around so all suspicion immediately falls on me. I had to smile sweetly and tell her I had no idea where the coins could have come from. Luckily the interrogation doesn't last too long.
So day one is safely behind me and tomorrow I will navigate my way to work through Southall. I am sure I am going to have many more surreal evenings like the one that just passed - if I start repeating myself constantly you all know why!!
P.S in the course of writing this post Dot has tried to put me to bed twice. Scratch that 3 times.
So day one has come and gone. Dorothy's son was here when I arrived to settle me in and explain the ins and outs to me. I spent the afternoon unpacking some of my stuff - trying to ram my clothes into the tiny cupboard - but eventually I had to go downstairs and chat to old Dot. Turns out I have no idea what to chat to an old lady about. So after about 5 mins I popped upstairs to google "talking to people with Alzheimer's". Needless to say google was less than helpful but armed with such tips as speak slowly and clearly (a real gem that one, don't think I could have figured that out on my own)I headed back down. Turns out if I just sit quietly next to her the conversation will come to me - one specific conversation - what was my name again? And what time am I going to work? and what time will I be back? I must have answered each of these at least 10 times over a 2 hour period. At one point while trying to help her take her evening pills she handed me the HUGE pill box and asked me if there was anything in there I wanted.
The slight downside to living with Dot is when she does something crazy, like put 1p coins in her hot chocolate, she doesn't remember doing it and I am the only other person around so all suspicion immediately falls on me. I had to smile sweetly and tell her I had no idea where the coins could have come from. Luckily the interrogation doesn't last too long.
So day one is safely behind me and tomorrow I will navigate my way to work through Southall. I am sure I am going to have many more surreal evenings like the one that just passed - if I start repeating myself constantly you all know why!!
P.S in the course of writing this post Dot has tried to put me to bed twice. Scratch that 3 times.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Live Earth
For this post I really wish I was a better writer. I want to try and get down in words what a phenomenal day it was but I am just not able to find the words.
I have to say that by the time this rolled around I was incredible underwhelmed. Things were hectic at work, and I still had my mind on Glastonbury, and as far as I was concerned there was no way that one day at Wembley stadium would every compete with that experience.
Steven made the decision that we should leave Putney at 8:30, and boy was I unhappy about that. I made it perfectly clear to everyone that I thought this was a ridiculous idea and that I was unhappy. Surely we would not be able to maintain a place at the front of the crowd for the whole day no matter how early we got there. But I got up at 7:30 and dragged my sorry as down to the station non-the-less. We got to Wembley way before the doors were due to open and queued for about 2 hours, and boy was I glad we did. We managed to get into the "pit" which was right in front of the stage. They only let a certain number of people in there so there was no over crowding , we even had enough space to spread out our picnic blanket and have a lie down between acts.
The sun shone the whole day and the performances just got better and better as the day went on. The Foo Fighters and Madonna were probably my highlights but in actual fact there were very few acts that I did not LOVE. I would have payed double the price to have been able to experience that day! Amazing!!!
I have to say that by the time this rolled around I was incredible underwhelmed. Things were hectic at work, and I still had my mind on Glastonbury, and as far as I was concerned there was no way that one day at Wembley stadium would every compete with that experience.
Steven made the decision that we should leave Putney at 8:30, and boy was I unhappy about that. I made it perfectly clear to everyone that I thought this was a ridiculous idea and that I was unhappy. Surely we would not be able to maintain a place at the front of the crowd for the whole day no matter how early we got there. But I got up at 7:30 and dragged my sorry as down to the station non-the-less. We got to Wembley way before the doors were due to open and queued for about 2 hours, and boy was I glad we did. We managed to get into the "pit" which was right in front of the stage. They only let a certain number of people in there so there was no over crowding , we even had enough space to spread out our picnic blanket and have a lie down between acts.
The sun shone the whole day and the performances just got better and better as the day went on. The Foo Fighters and Madonna were probably my highlights but in actual fact there were very few acts that I did not LOVE. I would have payed double the price to have been able to experience that day! Amazing!!!
2 Down 1 to go
This summer was going to be the summer of festivals...Glastonbury, Benicassim and V. I have not idea what possessed me to try cram a life times worth of music into 3 months! It has been totally amazing and totally crazy.
I didn't think Glastonbury could possibly live up to my expectations. I had been buzzing with excitement for weeks on end and I could barely sleep the night before we left. Nick had procured a car and I nominated myself for navigation duties...insisting that I had the capabilities of....well a great navigator, and then promptly got us lost in London!
We arrived at the campsite and I was blown away by the size of the festival. Everywhere I looked in every direction was just tiny little tents. We set up the tent and then headed off for a walk about. It was even stranger than I had imagined. The front end of aeroplane, huge metal robots, areas to make clay sculptures and tiny cafes to try and escape the mud. I remember thinking on that first day, if this is the mud they have been talking about, I can definitely handle it....little did i know.
Day 2 the rain began....and it didn't really let up for the rest of the weekend. The mud became ankle deep and then calf deep. Determined as I was not to fall the mud became so thick that my foot git stuck, the top half of my body kept moving forward and my feet remained stationary. hand first into the mud.
By the end of the weekend, living in mud and rain and being totally filthy started to feel normal. We saw some great music and would escape to the circus/comedy tent to try find somewhere to sit down! I was torn between desperately wanting to get home and never wanting to leave! The real world became a distant memory and life became all about food, music and crazy people! For weeks after coming home I felt a pang every time I thought of Glasto.
Benicassim was pretty much the polar opposite. We jetted off to Spain, leaving a cold and rainy London behind and arrived to a boiling hot dusty evening. The campsite was rammed full and we had to find a tiny corner in the back of campsite to pitch our tent. Our days were routine....get up, head straight down to the beach to grab a deck chair and umbrella and relax in the sun and swim all day. The sea was the most gorgeous blue and it was so warm. In the afternoon we would head into town for drink and to grab some food before hitting the festival. The crowd was so energetic and it made the festival for me. But I realised that I do not have the kind of stamina to be able to do this all day all night kind of thing. I was always the first one to head off to bed! The real drama of the holiday was us missing our flight! I know that is the thing I am going go tremember when I look back on this holiday! desperately racing to get to the airport, watching the minutes tick by and feeling so helpless. Thanks to the great taxi driver who did everything he could to get the crazy english speaking tourists to the airport on time, especially with stsven shouting, rapido, rapido at him every now and then!
So V in a couple weeks, I'm looking forward to this one casue hopefully it will be stress free. Loads of friends are going so I'm looking forward to a chilled weekend away and seeing the Foo Fighters!
I didn't think Glastonbury could possibly live up to my expectations. I had been buzzing with excitement for weeks on end and I could barely sleep the night before we left. Nick had procured a car and I nominated myself for navigation duties...insisting that I had the capabilities of....well a great navigator, and then promptly got us lost in London!
We arrived at the campsite and I was blown away by the size of the festival. Everywhere I looked in every direction was just tiny little tents. We set up the tent and then headed off for a walk about. It was even stranger than I had imagined. The front end of aeroplane, huge metal robots, areas to make clay sculptures and tiny cafes to try and escape the mud. I remember thinking on that first day, if this is the mud they have been talking about, I can definitely handle it....little did i know.
Day 2 the rain began....and it didn't really let up for the rest of the weekend. The mud became ankle deep and then calf deep. Determined as I was not to fall the mud became so thick that my foot git stuck, the top half of my body kept moving forward and my feet remained stationary. hand first into the mud.
By the end of the weekend, living in mud and rain and being totally filthy started to feel normal. We saw some great music and would escape to the circus/comedy tent to try find somewhere to sit down! I was torn between desperately wanting to get home and never wanting to leave! The real world became a distant memory and life became all about food, music and crazy people! For weeks after coming home I felt a pang every time I thought of Glasto.
Benicassim was pretty much the polar opposite. We jetted off to Spain, leaving a cold and rainy London behind and arrived to a boiling hot dusty evening. The campsite was rammed full and we had to find a tiny corner in the back of campsite to pitch our tent. Our days were routine....get up, head straight down to the beach to grab a deck chair and umbrella and relax in the sun and swim all day. The sea was the most gorgeous blue and it was so warm. In the afternoon we would head into town for drink and to grab some food before hitting the festival. The crowd was so energetic and it made the festival for me. But I realised that I do not have the kind of stamina to be able to do this all day all night kind of thing. I was always the first one to head off to bed! The real drama of the holiday was us missing our flight! I know that is the thing I am going go tremember when I look back on this holiday! desperately racing to get to the airport, watching the minutes tick by and feeling so helpless. Thanks to the great taxi driver who did everything he could to get the crazy english speaking tourists to the airport on time, especially with stsven shouting, rapido, rapido at him every now and then!
So V in a couple weeks, I'm looking forward to this one casue hopefully it will be stress free. Loads of friends are going so I'm looking forward to a chilled weekend away and seeing the Foo Fighters!
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Lunch break terror
Yesterday I was enjoying a leisurely lunch in the park when I was viciously attached by a bird. I was truly fearing for my life, as it puffed its feathers up and made vicious attacking noises. I was clinging to Nick for dear life as it circled around us, eying our food with it's beady beady eyes.
Nothing would put this fearless (vicious) bird off. I think eventually it took pity on me and decided I wasn't worth the effort, as clearly I had nothing to offer.
It took me the rest of the lunch break to recover...and I can tell you I will not be sitting on that side of the park again!
Nothing would put this fearless (vicious) bird off. I think eventually it took pity on me and decided I wasn't worth the effort, as clearly I had nothing to offer.
It took me the rest of the lunch break to recover...and I can tell you I will not be sitting on that side of the park again!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
NME New Music Tour
Tuesday night I managed to convince a few of my girlfriends to join me at the NME new music tour. The gig was at Koko in Camden which is one of my favourite venues. We got there early and so managed to secure a balcony area where we could sit and wait for the bands to start, and which also gave us a great view of the stage. The only band I had any real interest in seeing was Pull Tiger Tail, and I was not disappointed. The Guitarist Davo(??)was your typical cocky, I think I'm hot Brit rocker, and while he irritated the crap out of all my friends I found his antic mildly amusing. At one point he jumped down into the press alley in front of the crowd, I think he was expecting mass hysteria, but the crowd barely reacted. I really started enjoying myself when they got several people on stage with them to help them play one of their songs (will have to buy their CD in order to tell which song it was). It had an awesomely infectious beat, magnified by the extra people onstage thumping out the rhythm. This was the point where they started to look like they were really having fun, and from my great vantage point I could tell the crowd was loving it. I am seriously looking forward to seeing where this band again.
The surprise band of the evening was The Little Ones. I had never actually heard of them before this tour and they blew me away. I loved how they could stand on stage next to these other typically British bands, with their own very unique sound and "rock out". They even encouraged the crowd to throw things at them at one point. The lead singer, Ed Reyes, is incredibly charismatic and I fell in love with him the moment he stepped up onto stage and started wriggling his little butt around. He reminded me of a toddler, trying to explain something very earnestly, all big eyes and cute expressions. The music was incredibly happy and upbeat and I couldn't stop smiling throughout their performance, I actually felt a pang of loss as they walked off the stage.
I don't have terribly much to say about the other two bands. The drummer for the Blood Red Shoes was amazing, but I found the lead singer to be dull and her guitar smashing act at the end of their performance seemed like a childish temper tantrum. I would definitely like to keep an eye on the drummers career, my uneducated opinion is that he should ditch the girl and find someone with a bit more spunk.
The Rumble Strips.... where do I start? 15 minutes into their performance I snuck into the toilet where I overheard two girls discussing the Rumbles performance. The one drunken girl summed it by saying,"it's just shouty bloke music, who would want a Rumbles bootleg album?" I was unmoved by their performance. I spent more time watching the crowd than watching the band, and their music didn't really stir up any emotion. I was pretty much indifferent and we left before they had finished.
All in all I am really glad I went along to this. It is always great to hear new bands live and to find unknown gems! I'm off to buy the Little One's and Pull Tiger Tails albums.
The surprise band of the evening was The Little Ones. I had never actually heard of them before this tour and they blew me away. I loved how they could stand on stage next to these other typically British bands, with their own very unique sound and "rock out". They even encouraged the crowd to throw things at them at one point. The lead singer, Ed Reyes, is incredibly charismatic and I fell in love with him the moment he stepped up onto stage and started wriggling his little butt around. He reminded me of a toddler, trying to explain something very earnestly, all big eyes and cute expressions. The music was incredibly happy and upbeat and I couldn't stop smiling throughout their performance, I actually felt a pang of loss as they walked off the stage.
I don't have terribly much to say about the other two bands. The drummer for the Blood Red Shoes was amazing, but I found the lead singer to be dull and her guitar smashing act at the end of their performance seemed like a childish temper tantrum. I would definitely like to keep an eye on the drummers career, my uneducated opinion is that he should ditch the girl and find someone with a bit more spunk.
The Rumble Strips.... where do I start? 15 minutes into their performance I snuck into the toilet where I overheard two girls discussing the Rumbles performance. The one drunken girl summed it by saying,"it's just shouty bloke music, who would want a Rumbles bootleg album?" I was unmoved by their performance. I spent more time watching the crowd than watching the band, and their music didn't really stir up any emotion. I was pretty much indifferent and we left before they had finished.
All in all I am really glad I went along to this. It is always great to hear new bands live and to find unknown gems! I'm off to buy the Little One's and Pull Tiger Tails albums.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
One day older, one year older
Yes, this weekend I turned 24. I have to say that this year my expectations and excitement levels were at an all time low. There has been so much other stuff going on that it didn't seem to sink in that my birthday was upon me.
Luckily for me I have some amazing friends who
a) helped organise a celebration and
b) turned up and made the night worth while.
We started off at the Amused Moose comedy club. I was feeling a little apprehensive, cause if comedy is not great then it is just embarrassing. Luckily for me the three comedians were fantastic. It being my birthday I was very worriesd that one of my friend would draw attention to me and embarrass me. Sadly I do not need friends to draw attention to me as I am more than capable of embarrassing myself. During the one quite moment in the comedians witty banter I hiccuped....loudly, and it did not even take him 5 seconds to launch into me. I now have a new nick-name. But if you weren't there on sat night I'm afraid there is absolutely NO WAY I am going to divulge what it is.
Anyway....after the comedy ended we hung out for a couple minutes but the club emptied out faster than I could top up my glass of wine, so we headed out to Ghetto, were the music is kitsch and the men are "friendly", to dance dance dance the night away. The trip home was long, but fun filled and Jo will be forever known as McSleepy.
Thanks so so much to all y'all that pitched up. My night would not have been the same without you xxxx
Sunday, May 20, 2007
39 Steps
I was tired!!! Very very tired. And I did not feel like going out. But I had booked these damn tickets through damn lastminute for dinner and theater, so I dragged my sorry ass from work through to Picadilly to meet with the lovely Carlene. Dinner was nice (the company more than the venue) but the theater was great. My interest was piqued when I realised the theater was actually underground (yes I am easily excited!) Despite my lethargy, I was able to concentrate and even managed a few laughs. There were only four actors playing a number of roles. The whole show was very tongue in cheek but at the same time very very clever. I spent the whole night wondering how they had managed to think up so many different ways to bring this movie to the theater. I am sure I would've appreciated it even more if I had actually seen the movie!!!!! Never the less I was highly entertained for 2 hours and would loved to have met the actors so I could personally tell them how much I had enjoyed the show. After seeing this show I am even less impressed with "Treats" than I was on Monday night! For me this show is what the west end is all about, slightly over the top acting, clever props and a lot of laughs.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The long overdue Fall Out Boy concert review
I am a HUGE fall out boy fan. I have introduced all my friends to them and I've been waiting a year to see them live. So I my expectations for this gig were pretty high...and they went unmet. We arrived to hear the last few songs of the support act and I took the opportunity to check out the crowd... once again I was the oldest person there by years and at only 23 that was not a good feeling. Pretty much as soon as FOB came on stage the teeny bopper punks started moshing, things were out of control before they called for the "whirlpool" or whatever the moshers call it. The band had zero spark and at no point did it look like Patrick Stump was having a good time. Pete Wentz endless spinning around made me dizzy and don't even get me started on their half time entertainment freak show. If I wanted to see some guy jump through a table I would rent Jackass.
I had heard bad reviews about FOB's live performances but had refused to believe them... I guess I can't live in denial anymore!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Trick or treat?
Last night I took Julie to see "Treats" for her birthday. If I am totally honest I didn't know a whole lot about the show before I booked the tickets, all I saw was some famous faces that I wanted to see a bit more up close and personally.
I haven't seen all that many plays (in other words non-musicals) and so I think my expectations were a little off. I basically expect a live movie. What we got was some real live crying and some jilted dialog. That's not to say it isn't good, but somehow without camera angles and lighting and music (and all the other movie magic) it's just not the same. And yes I know it's not supposed to be the same, as I said, my expectations are off.
In the end it was enjoyable and I got to see some stars and I feel a bit more cultured, but I can't claim that theater is my most favourite thing.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
I choose my choice!!!
I've just gotten back from SA. It was wonderful to be home. To be back with the people who at the end of the day know me the best and love me despite the dork I was in High school. The whole time I was there I was more than willing to tell anyone who would listen how great the UK is and how they should come over that very minute. I also made sure everyone around me knew how happy I am here. But even while I was talking I was wondering if I had made the right choice in making the UK my home. I AM deliriously happy here most of the time, and the life and opportunities here so for exceed the options in Cape Town, but at the same time I am missing out on a lot. My young brothers and sisters are growing up at a rapid pace with little thought to how that makes me feel, my parents and grandparents go on and get older and my friends are getting married (separate issue all together). So getting on the plane was hard, much harder than the last time as now I know I will not be back for another three years or so, and so so much is going to happen in that time, but at the end of the day, I choose my choice. I choose London with all the hecticness and stress, as well as the beauty and vibrancy. And I choose to let people in SA move on without me. I choose my choice!!!!!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
YOU GOT PUSHED!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is safe to say that my tube ride to work in the morning is never pleasant, but most mornings I can get onto the tube, find a place to stand and listen to some music or read a book. This morning however was not one of those mornings. There were SEVERE delays on the district line, so when I ran up the stairs at East Putney station people were standing 4 deep waiting for the tube. Luckily I spotted Steve who managed to drag me onto the next train with him. So we were chatting, trying not to irritate too many people around us when we heard some girl starting to kick off. I had heard rumours about this kind of thing going on but had never seen it myself. She just shouted at this poor man for about 10 minutes, saying the same thing over and over again. Soon the whole carriage was making chirps and getting laughs which lightened the atmosphere, but nothing would stop this girl...she was pretty much going to rant for the rest of the journey.
Nothing like a bit of Drama on the tube to kick start your morning!!! And nothing like some mad woman screaming to unite the rest of the poor people on the tube!!!!
Nothing like a bit of Drama on the tube to kick start your morning!!! And nothing like some mad woman screaming to unite the rest of the poor people on the tube!!!!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Friday, April 06, 2007
The car journey from hell
Today we journeyed up to exotic Norwich. Instead of catching the train like normal people we hitched a lift with Gary. We thought everything was sweet until we hit a massive traffic jam as thousands of people fled London to the country for the long weekend. We eventually arrived in Norwich 6 and a half hours after leaving home...totally tuckered out after all the sitting. Thank goodness we re catching the train back home....
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
I stole this from my friend Rich...
1. A is for age: 23 (almost 24)
2. B is for beer of choice: yuck yuck yuck....
3. C is for career right now: Exhibition assistant and event organiser extraordinaire.
4. is for your dog's name? I had a dog once......
5. E is for essential item you use everyday: hair straighteners
6. F is for favorite TV show at the moment: HERO'S !!!!!!!!
7. G is for favorite game: can I make G is for your favorite guy???
8. H is for Home town: Currently London baby....but originally Cape Town
9. I is for instruments you play: My iPod
10. J is for favorite juice: apple I think
11. K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: SMcV....my arch Nemesis
12. L is for last place you ate: I had a snack on my bed while I watched a DVD
13. M is for marriage: yes please...
14. N is for your full name: Bronwyn Allison Sletcher
15. O is for overnight hospital stays: nope
16. P is for people you were with today: work colleges... and flatties
17. Q is for quote:
18. R is for Biggest Regret: I don't believe in regrets
19. S is for status: negative
20. T is for time you woke up today: finally crawled out of bed at 7:45
21. U is for underwear you have on now: the normal
22. V is for vegetable you love: mmmm... not much of a vegetable person....although I will eat them....maybe baby corn
23. W is for worst habit: I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you
24. X is for x-rays you've had: on my saliva gland....had a blockage and my face was about to explode...and on my kidneys after a vicious infection
25. Y is for yummy food you ate today: 2 croissants for brekkie.....yummy
26. Z is for the zodiac sign: Gemini
2. B is for beer of choice: yuck yuck yuck....
3. C is for career right now: Exhibition assistant and event organiser extraordinaire.
4. is for your dog's name? I had a dog once......
5. E is for essential item you use everyday: hair straighteners
6. F is for favorite TV show at the moment: HERO'S !!!!!!!!
7. G is for favorite game: can I make G is for your favorite guy???
8. H is for Home town: Currently London baby....but originally Cape Town
9. I is for instruments you play: My iPod
10. J is for favorite juice: apple I think
11. K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: SMcV....my arch Nemesis
12. L is for last place you ate: I had a snack on my bed while I watched a DVD
13. M is for marriage: yes please...
14. N is for your full name: Bronwyn Allison Sletcher
15. O is for overnight hospital stays: nope
16. P is for people you were with today: work colleges... and flatties
17. Q is for quote:
18. R is for Biggest Regret: I don't believe in regrets
19. S is for status: negative
20. T is for time you woke up today: finally crawled out of bed at 7:45
21. U is for underwear you have on now: the normal
22. V is for vegetable you love: mmmm... not much of a vegetable person....although I will eat them....maybe baby corn
23. W is for worst habit: I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you
24. X is for x-rays you've had: on my saliva gland....had a blockage and my face was about to explode...and on my kidneys after a vicious infection
25. Y is for yummy food you ate today: 2 croissants for brekkie.....yummy
26. Z is for the zodiac sign: Gemini
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Top tips for organising a event for 800 + people
4 weeks out...
1. Relax, take it easy. It is well known that all organisation for any event happens in the last week, so you might as well put your feet up while you can
2 weeks out...
2.Your event planner would probably like to meet up with you at this point... avoid this at all costs....if they know what you look like they will rush straight to you for every little thing on the night of the event...and this would really ruin your evening.
1 week out
3. Stop answering calls....it is inevitably some guest calling to tell you they have not recieved their invitation or someone cancelling their seat causing a problem on your seating plan.
4. Start shifting responsibility of important tasks....that way when the shit hits the fan at the event you have someone to blame
day before the event
4. Make sure you go for your mani pedi and fake tan....nothing helps in a crisis like looking good.
D-day
5. Have a relaxing morning, sleep in. You will need your beauty sleep. Pitch up at the venue in time to get a few bevvies in to calm the nerves...then go shine....you have worked long and hard on this event so enjoy your moment......
1. Relax, take it easy. It is well known that all organisation for any event happens in the last week, so you might as well put your feet up while you can
2 weeks out...
2.Your event planner would probably like to meet up with you at this point... avoid this at all costs....if they know what you look like they will rush straight to you for every little thing on the night of the event...and this would really ruin your evening.
1 week out
3. Stop answering calls....it is inevitably some guest calling to tell you they have not recieved their invitation or someone cancelling their seat causing a problem on your seating plan.
4. Start shifting responsibility of important tasks....that way when the shit hits the fan at the event you have someone to blame
day before the event
4. Make sure you go for your mani pedi and fake tan....nothing helps in a crisis like looking good.
D-day
5. Have a relaxing morning, sleep in. You will need your beauty sleep. Pitch up at the venue in time to get a few bevvies in to calm the nerves...then go shine....you have worked long and hard on this event so enjoy your moment......
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Noddy
For home group this week Rox suggested we head down to our favourite local The Jolly Gardener for a chilled evening. What we didn't realised was that Tuesdays are pub quiz night at the Jolly. I am not a fan of the pub quiz, for the simple reason that I am not British and so don't know the answer to ANY of the questions and so I walk away feeling a little uneducated. While trying to figure out which F1 driver one his first race since 1996 Liz suggested Noddy....and we were off. Any question we didn't know the answer to our default answer was Noddy.... Rox was so embarrassed by our effort that when I cajoled her into handing our form in, she threw it at the bar counter and ran to the bathroom to hide. Watching the woman sniggering as she marked our answers did little to increase my love of the British pub quiz... Sadly we had to leave before the winners were announced so we didn't get to see the woman wondering around looking for the winner of the pub quiz.....NODDY
Counting Sheep
Friday I was enjoying a relaxing night in with Rox and V, when we started discussing sleep patterns. The conversation eventually came around to the strange things people resort to in order to go to sleep. I admitted to having tried counting sheep but that I would get frustrated as my sheep seemed to have a mind of their own and would all start leaping over the fence at once making it very difficult for me to count them and leaving me more awake and frustrated than before. At this point Rox was laughing hysterically having also experienced out of control sheep. When we eventually calmed down and were able to talk and breath I was so relieved to realise I was not the only one to have this problem.... and it made me think that Rox and I really have a lot more in common than we would probably ever realise....
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Catch up
So, I have been decidedly slack in the blog department. I think a combinations of things have caused this.
1. I realised no one was actually reading my largely useless musings on life.
2. I am really busy.
3. While I am busy, I am not busy doing anything very interesting. I tend to work and see friends and sleep...not very blog worthy.
Last week I helped out at a work function at the houses of parliament. I was excited to go inside but to be honest once I was in there I could have been in any building. I felt very out of my depth so I stuck with my friend and colleague Nick...eating large amount of horrendously expensive canapes and drinking wine. The best part of the evening by far was packing up and heading to the pub.
Other than that I have been consumed with the thought of festival tickets and going home. 5 weeks and 2 days till the impending trip and 2 weeks till Glastonbury tickets go on sale....I will get these tickets as I have already missed out on V tickets and the line up is outrageously good....sob
1. I realised no one was actually reading my largely useless musings on life.
2. I am really busy.
3. While I am busy, I am not busy doing anything very interesting. I tend to work and see friends and sleep...not very blog worthy.
Last week I helped out at a work function at the houses of parliament. I was excited to go inside but to be honest once I was in there I could have been in any building. I felt very out of my depth so I stuck with my friend and colleague Nick...eating large amount of horrendously expensive canapes and drinking wine. The best part of the evening by far was packing up and heading to the pub.
Other than that I have been consumed with the thought of festival tickets and going home. 5 weeks and 2 days till the impending trip and 2 weeks till Glastonbury tickets go on sale....I will get these tickets as I have already missed out on V tickets and the line up is outrageously good....sob
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