January, Oh January. Welcome to 2008.

The last month has been quite busy and not a little stressful for me! With a bit more tension than normal at work, insecurity about my job, desperately looking for somewhere else to live, another friend (apart from the friend in my last post) passing away due to cancer back home...all in all I've been exhausted. There have also been some great things going on, which I am thankful for. They bring smiles to my face and remind me that though there are some stressful things to work through at the moment, this is just part of a season, a normal part of my life right now that has it's dark and light times. Here are some cool things that I should be writing about more on this blog! Sorry, you just get them in bullet points right now!

• Caught up with a few good friends a couple of weeks ago and made some more, which have been heaps of fun to hang out with since then. Australia day was celebrated with them yesterday.
• Found a free-cycle yahoo group in my local area and made a trip last week to pick up a free polaroid camera. Something else to play with and to freshen my creative skills.
• Started a course about Christianity at http://www.stmaryslondon.com/ . This is a weekly meeting up with about 130 people (in groups of 10-15) who eat together, listen to a talk, have coffee then conversation in our groups. Pretty free and easy, nice to have the company of other people along the journey in talking about some big issues of the universe!
• I received a postcard from a friend back home who I used to work with just encouraging me and saying he was proud of my journeying, here to England - we used to talk about me going to England over 2 years ago now.
• Went for drinks and then to watch P.S. I Love You with a girlfriend (LOVED IT!)
• Caught up with a friend from Scotland who was visiting for a while and also with my old housemates. (Actually, going there for dinner tonight as well). Always good conversation
• Also, after viewing a gift that my brother had given me for Christmas, Season one of "Avatar - the Last Airbender", meant that I have been searching around and finally viewed season 2 and 3! Good stuff, thanks Jono!
• Found heaps of time to read whilst travelling on buses/tubes and have managed to get through 2 books that I was given for Christmas. Ok, I have a couple more chapters in the last one, but almost done! My reading skills have improved heaps in the last couple of years as I've intentionally poured more time into it. I love devouring books! Especially seeing that I have so much 'otherwise wasted time' on public transport here in London.
• I received a phonecall from my parents the other day letting me know that my Grandma who hadn't been well, was feeling much better after a change in medication. Very very good to hear.
• A friend from the tour I took when I first came to the UK got back in touch. We had heaps of fun touring around together and it's really great to be in contact.
• There has been quite a bit of sunshine this week, which is much needed. Gives things a lighter tint, to be sure.

So even though I've been a little quiet in the virtual world lately and probably seem a little stressed when my parents talk to me on the phone, I'm bearing this month of homesickness quite well. Someone told me just yesterday that months 2 and six (which I'm just about to enter) tend to be the hardest.

Nice to know that other people go through it as well!! Much love to all who are reading this.

News from home

I heard some sad news today about a friend of mine passing away yesterday. I lived in the flat above his house for almost a year before moving over here and value the time I spent with him, his wife and baby girl. He was only young, in his mid twenties and it's such a tragic loss.
I feel like the world has lost something. Not just those that knew him.

I went to school with Mel and Wil - he was a highly creative engineer and we shared an interest in art, photography and films. I'd often hear him, our friend Mark and maybe his brother or brother in law outside taking the remote control car out for a spin up the street. An enlarged photo he'd taken of his little girl, Lola, sitting in the bathtub surrounded by bubbles sat with pride of place on their lounge room wall. Saying "Hi!" as I arrived home from work to see him sitting in the garage diligently working on a model car.

Mel and Wil with their families and friends have been through many tough times over the last year and half since his cancer diagnosis - I pray and ask God that peace and a warmth of heart might come to them as they celebrate his life and mourn his loss.

There are a number of people that are still fighting the cancer cells back home - so many that it frightens me. Please know that you're not far from my heart.

This is my fourtieth post, and first for the new year.

I must apologise for my lack of keeping you up to date with what's going on in my life over here in England.

TO BACK TRACK A LITTLE...Our work Christmas party was held at the house of commons (Westminster). I was pretty excited about going along, despite a bit of fretting over what to wear. I eventually decided not to buy something new, after looking for ages, just primped up something I already had and didn't stress too much. Someone advised me not to wear anything that I would mind being ruined, due to the free flowing alcohol - I also heard many stories from last year's event and decided that I'd leave before things got messy in any event.

I should mention that to get into the house of commons for an event like this, you have to be invited by an MP. It so happens that one of our staff members has a father who is an MP and arranged for our invitations. We each had our invitations that we presented before being allowed entry on a number of occasions. This is my place setting - just to prove I was really there. I went for the vegetarian main, which is why I was given a special blue dot. :P

Before we'd even gone through the first entrance we had to be searched, and tested for freaky substances - then we were allowed to proceed through to the bar where our other staff members were waiting.
It was great to meet most of the staff from our London offices, as a few of them I had heard of but not met. The others, I see at our monthly sales/marketing meetings.
After a while, we were taken on about a 45 minute tour by the MP who invited us. So much better than anything we'd have been able to view if we were outsiders. The history and interiors that decorate that place is incredible - bronze statues, carefully planned and constantly restored tiling, huge wall tapestries depicting french/english atrocities, the places where the parliamentarians work so hard and a gilded gold throne. We saw it all up close and personal.

Our dinner was quite nice, nothing too unusual - it was really great to have some high class waiting staff. I've never seen such attention to detail and poise actually put into action in a serving capacity. (I try to generally stay away from such fancy/expensive establishments!)
It was great to see my work mates behaving themselves and indeed even when we went out afterwards to our pre-booked champagne bar, they waited until after I'd left to get really blind. I had to leave early, as I was waiting to meet up with one of my (prospective at that stage) new housemates.

I came into work the next Monday and Tuesday, and was inundated with gossip of the Friday night. :) So glad that none of it involved me. I finished up on the 18th December, and had a few days off before heading down to Cornwall on the 22nd. I spent Christmas down in Porkellis with my Dad's eldest brother and his family who looked after me extremely well. It was such a joy to share Christmas with them. When I arrived, a box of Christmas presents from my family was waiting for me. It had been sent over from Tasmania as well as an express envelope with Christmas cards and a pressie from my youngest sis. Sorry again, Tash for opening it too soon. You really have to warn me if you aren't going to wrap... :)

One of my gift boxes still hasn't arrived back home - at least they get to extend their Christmas gift joy! I'm sure it'll arrive soon...

On Boxing Day, a few of us travelled down to Gweek, Cynance Cove and to The Lizard - My Uncle David, cousin Sarah, Steve - a friend who had been staying with us over Christmas, Solomon who we met at my uncle's church who is from Ghana and currently studying mining in Falmouth and myself. We had a feast for lunch before gearing up for hours of delight at the natural beauty. Such a great time of the day to go as well, late afternoon. (but of course that's actually bout 3pm here!) The light was just right to get some picturesque shots - check out the Picasa image gallery on the top right.

Solomon, Steve and Sarah below. Such a cheesy shot, but it really makes me smile.

Below: Who says the gulls aren't good for anything?!

Whilst in the south west of the Great Island, I also had the opportunity to meet up with some 'great' relatives, my dad's aunt and uncle. I travelled up to Exeter and surrounds, with my Uncle David and cousin Sarah.

Myself, Great Uncle Wil and Sarah:

We had a great day having lunch with Uncle Wil and catching up on goings on as well as meeting up later on with his sister, Auntie Beet. I'd met Uncle Wil years earlier, but I would have been about 13 then when he came out to Australia with his wife, Grace.

Auntie Beet is pictured below:

Just before I went down to Cornwall, I had my hair styled slightly differently. It's short at the back and layered at the front...fun to do :)

I've been here for four and a half months now. That's a fair bit of time, eh! I'm still looking for a permanent place to live - the day after I arrived home from cornwall I moved out of the place I had been staying in and am now room-sitting for a girl from the church I've been going to, who is going back to NZealand for a holiday.

It's just around the corner (15 mins walk) from where I have been living so that means it won't be much of an adjustment in terms of getting to work, visiting my old housemates and finding my way around. I'm only here for the month of January, so I need to be busy finding somewhere a bit more permanent to live as soon as I can. JJ isn't moving down any more, so that means I'm looking for somewhere on my own...unless some others come my way. I'm keeping a lookout for people/places and have others looking out too which is a great help.

I start work again on the 3rd January. Which means the day after tomorrow. One more day of rest until I start work again. It'll be nice to step back into routine a bit, but I have to admit, it'll be hard work when I return, as our new Business Development Manager will be starting. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be working there for, but I'll just ride it out at this stage.

Happy to be here in London, still taking things in and just treading water.

Hope that you all had a great new years eve (mine was full of watching fireworks!) and please remember to email me, write and just generally keep in touch!

I'll try and do the same. :)