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50. Week commencing 26/5/03
Tue: Weekend in college & bank holiday Monday, the whole day, writing essays which are due the day after I come back from Peru. Hmm, great way of spending my time off work. Ended up calling my manager first thing in the morning to take a flexi to recover (I don't think that I should be trying to kill myself 2 days before the trek) Flying first thing Thursday morning (looks like I'll have to get up some time around 4am - so far the greatest challenge on this mission) & I feel I am beginning to panic a little bit: 'fit enough? have all the right stuff? what is it going to be like at the altitude?' And I also know that I'll miss Mark SO much (have not been apart for 10 days since last millennium) On the other hand - 'well done me' & can't wait to go, see the mountains and meet all the people that I know only via e-mail. Nearly forgot to mention - Mark's mate Chris is hosting a forum for us (the trekers) on www.somedodgywebsite.com Have a look, leave a message if you want, start a thread... I reckon that this will be one of the very last entries in this diary & so I give you some ridiculous pictures of myself, ready to go, trek and camp. Feel free to have a laugh at my expense - this is my way of saying thanks to all of you who were there for me. xx 49. Week commencing 19/5/03 Thu: Listening to Led Zeppelin having spent the evening watching some old Czech movies and drinking red wine. Could not wish for more (that's not just about the wine, anything) Recovered from the hair cut (end of 'bad hair decade', loooove my new hair & didn't call my counsellor if you need to know); got nearly everything ready for the trek (this time next week - Lima!); went to see Matrix2 last night (so Cool! can't believe there are still people who have not seen the first one)... pretty good. Hedonism is the answer to all life's questions. People keep asking what am I going to do after the trek - got a new idea (very fresh, about 2 seconds old): build a time-machine and go to see Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Deep Purple, The Who, Jimi Hendrix... Excuse me please, going to go and listen to my music now. Good night. x 48. Week commencing 12/5/03 Wed: 7pm: got home, no more long hair... feel naked & considering calling my counsellor... (need to recover now; will say a bit more later) Only 2 weeks to go! 47. Week commencing 5/5/03 Fri: booked my hair cut for next Wednesday at 5pm (very excited). This whole topic of my hair would fill a book but ...will not bore you & just a couple of examples to demonstrate what I'm talking about. I called T&G to book the appointment, agreed day and time and then the receptionist asks 'have I been there before and if not have I had a consultation' (to know what they need to do and how much it will cost... by the way: bloody expensive ... but since it's the first proper investment in the last decade...) - 'No' & so she asks how long my hair is. (R:) 'Down to my knees'; the response: ' Are you being sarcastic !!' ('slightly' raised voice)... imagine the rest of the conversation. Then I went for my 5 minute consultation - couple of staff members saying stuff like 'you're not gonna have it cut, are you?' (have not had so many eyes on me since I was all in white getting married & then I had a fresh colour and wash - unlike on Friday) Back at work - the most mouthy (and very very lovely) person in the whole building - speechless; people who are against my decision are forming some weird support group... it seems that my hair has become public property and the elders have to take a vote before I may action anything (next thing - they'll get it listed ... and I'm screwed) There are a few things I'm really looking forward to: will be able to brush my hair (and generally less time spent on maintenance); no more unwanted dreadlocks; will be able to wear it down (without getting it cought on door handles, people's coat button's, my backpack etc.); will not have to twist it around my neck when going to the toilette... Disadvantages: loss of something quite unique; disappointed husband (Good Bye Rupanzel & now he has to walk up the stairs... so what! I do it all the time); have to wear clothes (rather then just hair and nothing else) & the most difficult one to manage - no more looking like Cousin It from Adams family (or Uncle? you know who, don't you... great party trick) or a character from 'Hair' (...and my brother is already calling me 'boldie') Enough - don't just read about it, see it: Wed 5pm -Tony and Guy on Holloway Rd Thu: Spent the evening in the Regents Park - watching a lot of fairly unfit animators chasing a ball (aka playing football)... summer is here, end of hibernation. Lovely. Only 3 weeks to go now (seriously worried about my fitness level) & still quite a few thing to sort out... not enough hours in the day (i.e. not enough time to do this site either) Spending my free time walking and walking; getting behind with college work and running out of people willing to keep me company ... Even the dog seemed too tired at the end of Bank Holiday weekend. So tired that she fell / slid into a canal near by Stratford Upon Avon when she was pretending to have a drink (clearly - in order to avoid more walking) and nearly gave me a heart attack when I had to attempt very amateurish pet rescue... Culture: X2 -very good & Matrix 2 is coming out soon (life is great!) 46. Week commencing 28/4/03 Thu: Got my passport back! Mon: I'm not too sure what to do with this site now. I don't want to keep updating this page just to show up with 'see how much I've walked today' (example: this am - home / King'sX ...to Peruvian Embassy / Sloane St ... to college / Docklands. Frankly, I don't think that you find it SO interesting) and ... on the other hand... I don't know if I want it to become too personal (like a 'real' diary) . I'll have to think about it... 45. Week commencing 21/4/03 Thu: It's all pretty good: fundraising is over (and if I wanted to I could carry on with everything else that I've advertised - the hair cut, football match, another curry night... but now ...I just want to chill out for a bit); I got the placement (hurray! the bast part - my Saturdays are now MINE); had 6 days off around Easter (needed it - first weekend since January); I'm going to get the tourist visa sorted on Monday (finally got through to them)... all good & well done me Some people are now asking 'what am I gonna do?' Well, find some time to go home for a little while, knit some more socks, catch up on my college work (and cinema going!), read some clever counselling books and - most important - write myself a note reminding me how much of hard work this was (just in case I decide to walk the Great Wall of China for some charity...) 43. Week commencing 7/4/03 Sun: after the walk - I belive the mission is completed (3 people got signatures worth over £200) Great !! Thu: Half term. Great - having well deserved break from college. The down site is the fact that we were given essays and case studies - enough to keep me busy till July. And, of course, as I do not go to college I have to go to work instead. (PS: work is a madhouse at the moment & don't get me wrong, I am not in the slightest way referring to the clients... I'm not even thinking about them right now... I'm talking about some of the people that work there; they should have their medication reassessed) Sat. will be the last day of my placement training. Looking forward to having my weekends back. As you might have guessed - writing this just as I got back from work, tired (would not be surprised if your energy level dropped straight after you've read this) 1/ Training: not impressive this week; 2/ Fundraising: someone who's doing the Sunday walk told me she already got £45 (very happy) & re: haircut - finally found some supporters in college...; 3/ Equipment: knitting myself nice worm sock for sleeping outdoors (the highlight of my 'Fashion disaster' project) 42. Week commencing 31/4/03 Sun: Mark is 26! ...click on 'him' a check out the picture (it's great waking up next to someone as good looking as Derek Zoolander... anyway - my favourite pic & now you can see it too) We've spent the whole week trying to win some holidays with Virgin radio, got through 3 times (this is what I consider to be a miracle) ... and?... and to quote another classic (Some Like It Hot) 'and nothing!' OK, guys - how much do you value your listeners? Fundraising: promises, promises... but no more cash this week (only people going on about the hair & how I must keep it... come on!) Training: pretty good. Walked all over London (the usual - work, college, counselling etc but also to see 1/ The Recruit - film good, bloke not as gorgeous as expected & 2/ AutoFocus - I nearly fell asleep; it's one of those 'have seen it before' movies) & also reminding people of the next London Walk (Sun 13/4). Other preparation for the trek: found a very useful website: 'Travel Doctor' (and got all my jabs now!); continuously searching for stuff that is not ridiculously overpriced but still good for Andes (I think that there is a bit of hope around East London / Docklands)... and saving the best for last: Home Office returned my passport & so now I have to send it off to the Peruvians for my tourist visa (seriously - does anyone know where to get a fake passport - just in case I want to travel while all my stamps are being sorted out...?) And the last thing: Had observed practise with the YP substance misuse place: genuine full-on 17 year old stoned 'I don't want to be here' teenager (baptised with fire - that's what I call it & so far the most useful counselling experience) Tue: In a full flow of celebration - it's Mark's birthday on Friday and we've been celebrating for a couple of days now (with no intention to finish before Sunday - it's my great new strategy for getting him more excited about his b-day). He's going to be 26. Toy-boy! Going to see The Recruit tomorrow ... very excited about watching a very sexy bloke for a couple of hours (OK, no point in pretending that I'm expecting a lot from this film...) Walking, walking, walking.... Less then 2 months to go (!!) ... and still no passport (****! it seems to be spending more time with the Home Office than with me - massive downside of being a foreigner) Fundraising - going to carry out some extensive study about other people's attachment to my hair ('You can't cut it' etc.) - what the hell are they on about? It's just hair. Simple maths: it took me 10 years to grow it, i.e. I can have the same thing on my head about 4 times before I die... What's the big deal? (must admit that I'll feel a bit sad about losing my greatest party trick - 'Cousin IT' impression; but other than that... no big deal) 41. Week commencing 24/3/03 Thu: It's still party time. I had the great pleasure of getting drunk with London's best animators (Click HERE for one of them) ... and technical directors, as Mark said - but I must say that I didn't appreciate this aspect of it as much as I should have done . It's pretty cool living my life with the 'stars' (and Oxford Landing) And a great news - since increasing my social life I realised that I'll never be out of work! I have been reminded that this site is free for1 year only (and it's not a name cool enough to pay for, I'm sorry) & I know that it is a really bad news and some of you may need to get in touch with the bereavement service ... but... I promise I'll find another place where you can spy on my life and read all my blurb. (If you do feel bad/ sad/ suicidal after reading the bad news click HERE & if it doesn't help then e-mail me and I'll see what I can do) Re: fundraising - £200 to go (!!) & training: walking walking walking (just like Lenin said) Mon: It was party time last week & no time left to update this site (sorry - but to be honest, I didn't really care so much). Meeting people for lunch / dinner, a couple of birthday parties... pretty cool. KitKat's latest advertising campaign works - in the sense that I did have 'a break' in my 6-day-week not that I bought any KitKat (don't like it) Re: walking - have done enough to be quite happy about it (especially since I know that after this cup of tea I'll be walking to Docklands) & re: fundraising - got some cash (a bit p***ed off with our postman who keeps giving us other people's mail and ours to 'who-knows-whom' = someone else got my cheque for Mind for £100 which had been posted to me about 10 days ago...) 40. Week commencing 17/3/03 Wed: just a quick one before going to the cinema: I'm changing the 'Sponsored Hair Cut' strategy (click HERE) 39.Week commencing 10/1/03 Fri: Exhausted. Thu: 1/ Not much luck finding people willing to support my 'sponsored hair cut' thing. Come on... 4 feet of hair on offer! 2/ Bungee jump is also quite unlikely to happen - the big boss Andy left (very quickly and unexpectedly). 3/ What else is there? Curry Night next Thursday... that's usually a good night; 4/ and of course the 3rd London walk: Little Venice to Docklands (e-mail me for info pack) Less than £400 to go (amazing - especially considering that my family &friends back home were not able to help as £1=50Kc) Cinema: 'Dirty Pretty Things' - reminded me of what it was like being at the very end of the 'UK-food chain' and that was an experience worth writing a book about, trust me... The film was also quite inspiring - maybe I could sell a kidney to make up for the rest that I need to raise... (obviously - not my kidney, you silly) Wed: Gave MIND the first £2000 (two thousand pounds) !!! Today! (Celebrated with 'Analyse That' and a curry + red wine...time to have some more...) Tue: Chris said he's sent me another £85 from his sponsored weight loss (for some strange reason can't get to my account and check but I believe that the money are on their way) & Clover gave me a cheque for £99 from the first London Walk (little problem - I didn't notice that she did not put my name on it and so I just fed the machine...hmm, that's what happens when I do 10 things at the same time. Maybe I should start smoking pot and chill out a bit...) Anyway - if I'm really optimistic my fundraising total is pretty good! Mon: The good news first - I passed an observation for my placement training (yes, another one for the same YP substance misuse & I suspect that there may be more later on), i.e. getting closer to actually having a placement and clocking in counselling hours. Sun. last week: spent walking/ running around Malverns. Fabulous 1/ another 2 injections to go tomorrow; 2/ first thing when I get back from college - need to write a cheque for £2k to Mind & 3/ re: equipment - panicking a bit less as my sister in low offered to let me use some of her stuff (she's an aerodynamic engineer / pilot = owns less nail polish and other rubbish like that & more trekking and camping stuff) 38. Week commencing 3/3/03 Wed: Spent the last weekend in college (i.e. no proper walking Sat or Sun); feel unfit (despite walking for 2 hours min. each day); shocked (again) by the prices of the equipment I need to get (will need to look for second-hand stuff); got my first 2 injections (suffering from mild version of two weird diseases, a bit tired, achy arms etc.)... less the 3 months to go (!) Culture: 'Adaptation' hmm... a bit weird (as expected) & do recommend it. And finally: big thanks to PM for his morning music education - mainly the 60ties (keeps me going) 37. Week commencing 24/2/03 Thu: Tired. Yesterday was great walking day - I've done nearly 4 hours of walking (12M?) and can feel it now. Plus (WARNING !18 CERTIFICATE from this point onwards) now I've got this massive bloody blister on my little toe (!!)... I really don't want to sound like a man but it was so painful having to walk with that monster inside my shoe. And so today is the day when I rest at home with a glass of red wine (Cool) Fundraising: after the 'last one' there will be Jill's Curry Night on Thu 20/3... It's a bit like Final destination - there is Final destination 2 and after that there will be 'Finally final' & I'm planning to do something similar with the Curry Nights (in plain English - just keep it going) Anton is preparing a Star Wars Quiz; I need to sort out the football match; have prepared the third London Walk; Baby Bet will start next week (Juliette promised) & if all this goes well (plus a few more events) and I get all the money that people owe me... I should be ok. (In all modesty - I am The Fundraising Queen!... ok, ok just joking...I know... ) Culture: '8women' - very French Tue: 'Daredevil'... what can I say... 'With great power comes great responsibility' (& I didn't chose the film, Mark did) Got up early (very unlike me!), went for swim & walked about 10 miles today (have got a blister now). Mon: Watched 'The Importance of Being Earnest' - enjoyable and refreshing & managed to recover from yesterday's trauma. (It just like any other trauma: If you have a car crash - drive again asap; if you see a s*** film - go to a cinema to following day... otherwise you may never recover / go back!) And finally: When I used to listen to the afternoon drive time show I begun to sense (based on Q/A before 7pm) some kind of aspiration for world domination ('What if I ...?') .... just like Dr Evil's, I guess. So what ?? Well, it happening! The world is being taken over by P&G! 36. Week commencing 17/2/03 Sun: re: training - have been rather good this week. Reason? In touch with quite a few fellow trekers who reminded me that there is only 3 months left to train. Can't wait to go. Still not doing very well at finding someone willing to walk for hours. Fundraising: advertising the next / last London Walk, Little Venice to Docklands. And yes, I do expect to walk it all in one day. Really... people's reactions are just unbelievable. It's not SO far... Also adding some more gambling - betting on Juliette's baby. Boy or girl? And when is it going to be born? Only £700 to go and the mission will be completed! I am a bit exhausted again (not from walking). Doing this 'YP substance misuse training', college, work blah blah... have not had a day off (i.e. just sitting on my arse and resting) for a while now. (plus still need to get my passport back from the Home Office & sort out: insurance, vaccination, visa, equipment and ). Ready to clone myself. Culture section: Went to see Two Weeks Notice. No expecting much but hoping to have a bit of laugh. Such a badly acted pile of s***! I don't think that I would have been able to enjoy it even if I was a desperately singe teenager & the only reason why I didn't leave the cinema was the fact that I needed to sit down for a while after all the walking I've done around Hampstead Heath etc. earlier on. 35. Week commencing 10/2/03 Sun: Straight after uploading the site on Thu. I realised that I forgot to say something: ...and finally: "With great power comes great responsibility" Have to comment on some movies I've seen recently (warn you): 'Donnie Darko' - well, what can I say? The hypnotherapist spoiled it for me (such a lot of ***); '8mile' - didn't really want to see it but was pleasantly surprised; 'Catch me if you can' (or: as the boys from the studio say: 'Catch it when I....' you know what) - was worried that I may get the 'sweet overdose' which didn't happen and I really enjoyed the film. Training: not as good as I'd like it to be (M has to work weekends = I've nobody willing to walk for hours with me & it can get a bit boring with no one to talk to... and so I'm walking less than I should be) Fundraising: Curry Night on Wed 19/2 & planning / hoping for a few more things (Star Wars quiz, pub crawl etc.) Thu: Trying to get cash from people who put their names down on the form - what a mission! We have this massive 'biscuit eating culture' in our office and since I've been stuffing my face all week long I announced that I'll pay 50p to Mind for every bickie I have before the end of May. Juliette and Mo joined me - offering 10p per biscuit. Made30p in one afternoon and had no biscuits. With all modesty - I am a genius. Re: training - seriously looking for walking partners (I should not be dragging Mark along every time a go walking for a whole day. Reasons: 1/ he dislikes walking; 2/ is not as well trained as I am and therefore slows me down; 3/ may want to divorce me at the end of it). Other than that: still doing my min 50km a week, swimming and doing my 'home routine' (sit-ups etc.) Statement: 'It's the only way to wake up Pete and Geoff' ...hmm,but what is 'it' ? Nescafe ? Sending a letter to TV licencing who, despite being told on numerous occasions that we do not have a TV, left yet another note for us - this time 'you could have been prosecuted' underlined once; 'fined up to £1000' underlined 4 (!) times plus circled etc. Really surprised the sad bloke doesn't walk around with a bag full of highlighters (or... prhaps he does...) It's sad how people who have so little power in their jobs have the greatest desire to exercise it. Mon: Practising hypnotic trance at college (very exciting & a lot of fun); got offered a place on a 10 week training program that may result in having a placement (young people & substance misuse) and Mark's work got mentioned in the Times today. All good stuff. Also - I got a head-torch for my birthday last week and 'the second boot' (they were SO expencsive that I got one for x-mas and the other one for 6Feb)... meaning I have 2 (!) proper (!) mountain climbing things... And I'm sorting out my visa to go to Peru and the necessary vaccinations... Moving forward... all I need now is some more cash. 34. Week commencing 3/2/02 Sun: walked from home to Natural History Museum and back. Very good, only may need another walking partner since M. may find it a little bit difficult to keep up. Fri: Off sick. The worse part of it - can't go for a swim tonight (ok, could go but it would be the most stupid thing to do when ill) Thu 6/2: it's gone 1am, I am feeling guilty about not being in bed yet and at the same time recovering from the charity gig. Had a have glass of wine first... large glass of wine... I was one of the first people to get there (worried because nobody was turning up) & then I spent quite a while running around and getting people's signatures on my sponsorship form ... and selling raffle tickets. Then I decided that by 10pm (at last) I'll start celebrating and having fun with friends but... John, the manager got a bit disappointed with the show and so I ended up being drawn into a lengthy debate about the program and what was(not) appropriate etc. This finished about the same time when I left the pub to go home. I'm a bit tired and most of all I feel quite drained and 28. My real birthday will start when I wake up in a few hours. Good night. x Mon: added a new walk to my weekly routine- home to college (King's Cross to Docklands), lovely. Started hypnotherapy - very exciting ( who cares about fundraising now?) And... I'll be 28 this week (I clearly remember those times when I was looking at people just over 20, thinking how old they were) - still not sure how I'm feeling about it... 28... (but at the same time not sure if it's really worth celebrating) 33. Week commencing 27/1/03 Went out on Friday and realised how much it annoys me when blokes come to talk to'the hair' rather than me, then ask me if I'm from Prague (not to mention the Czechoslovakia part of the conversation) and then... how do I like living in the UK...? I've answered these Qs hundreds of times - I'm not kidding (wish I was) But ... I came up with a perfect solution. 'Your questions answered'. I'll get some kind of business cards with the answers, hand them out and then see if there is anything else we can talk about. I'm a genius. Thu: Snow! So great Hmm... I am spending a lot of time wondering what will be harder - sleeping in a tent at -15C (in words: minus fifteen!) OR blisters and weak muscles (strange - but I am not really SO worried about the altitude sickness yet...even though I should be... remember my 'fainting episode' on the top of the Eiffel tower?) Chicago - went to see it yesterday and... it was great, it was more than great, I loved it. Re: fundraising: in preparation for the gig next week... It will be either great or a bit of a disaster; no way this will end up being just a medioca event. Ok, lets hope it will go well. Info HERE It's my birthday in a week's time. Feels a bit strange this year... I'm hardly noticing it (must be getting old & in denial about it ... or something like that...) And finally - quote of the day (Mark): 'The Sunday Times didn't like Irreversible' (well, what do you say to that?) 32. Week Commencing 20/1/03 Sun: 7 weeks left (!! *** !!) Went to an info-meeting about the trek yesterday. Very interesting & also very scary. I can see myself suffering with altitude sickness, blisters, freezing at night etc. Hope I'll survive. On the other hand - all the slides we saw were really beautiful, green... Re: fundraising - can't wait for it to be over. Too much work (but at least I seem to be getting some money now) What else... went to see Rabbit-proof fence. Very good film & what was even better - the PCC audience were quiet for once (that's rare). Also had a great social life this week = should go for a mild detox next week I guess. And finally - my little brother was 25 (!) on Thursday (can't believe it... it means that I'll be...hmm...) Tue: Went to see Gangs of New York and was rather unimpressed. Other than that... as it is PayDay today I've been collecting cash from people who agreed to sponsor me for the pre-x-mas Duty Marathon & from those who got stuff from Bring & Buy sale but have not paid yet. Great - I'm on nearly £1,4k. What else have I been up to? ... working, fundraising, college(ing) & looking for a placement (still) - It's hard work being me. And finally: Have you ever noticed how the most annoying / cheesy song that you hear in the morning stays in your head for the rest of the day? ... whatever will be, will be... (do you know this one?) ...Will have to turn off the radio between 8-8.30am. Can't have this song playing in my head for the rest of this year / my life / not even one more day... it may kick off the voices in my head ...!! Mon: Had some 'dog therapy' during the weekend while visiting in-laws & feeling much better now... going to write a bit more tomorrow -just got back from college & it's time to go to sleep allreally. (If I manage I'll try to add picture of the dog so that you can see how lovely she is) 31. Week commencing 13/1/02 Sunday night (12/1) received bad news from home; not in 'jokey mood'... sorry if you don't hear from me for a while. 30. Week commencing 6/1/03 Fri: Yesterday's curry was fun. Only a few people attended but this time it was not about quantity but about quality - what would you say to a genuine: 'I'm sorry but my chicken kurma is too hot' (!?) Well, I had a great laugh. Decided to do one more - last Curry Night some time in Feb. One for those people who always say ' would love to come but can't make it this time. Will definitely come to the next one'. So this one will be The Next One. Other fundraising: I have noticed that some of my colleagues (size over 10) are eating suspiciously healthy food. If these are the volunteers that Susan mentioned, those people going lose weight for Mind - they should be either1/ announcing what they are doing some time soon before they lose too much weight or 2/ eat chocolate, bacon etc. so that the weight loss then becomes more of a challenge with a greater potential to raise some £s. But this... it's cheating! What else... Juliette (the pregnant lady) said that she'll let people bet on the following - the weight of the baby, day when it's born and its sex. Very exciting (especially since it's due on Mark's birthday) Planning another Mo gig - for the evening before my birthday, 5/2. Sad, turning my own birthday party into fundraising event. And one more thing: turning everyone I know into Pete and Geoff listeners so that they can than donate the £1 from Virgin radio to Mind. PS: checked their website - and found a page called 'Geoff's thoughts'. Dear reader, not only will this remind you of the page you're just looking at but there have been no thoughts for a week. I feel really tempted to throw in a few jokes (blokes, thoughts etc.) but will shut up and stay one of the biggest fans Wed: Czech winter arrived (really easy - if you order it, it will come. So I did & here it is) Nearly forgot to tell you that I got DVD Wayne's World 1&2 for x-mas, Calvin and Hobbes book and T-shirt (very sexy!) ... Looks like I'll be spending my evening doing some really intellectual stuff Tue: Susan H said that there is a group of 3 or 4 people going to do sponsored weight loss. Cool !! Mon: Back in London - working, fundraising... I didn't make any new year's resolutions but must get more serious about my training - so will be training more, eating healthier food, drinking less (especially the last one will be a bit of a challenge... really like red wine) I am organising another Curry night this Thu; collecting money from the raffle, Bring & Buy sale and my Duty Marathon. I'd say that I'm near 1,5k. What scares me is that I have to hand in 2k in about 10 weeks (i.e. need £50 every week) - so, no pressure, but have you not noticed that the 'Sponsor me on line' link works !?! 28.& 29. Weeks commencing 23 and 30/12/02 Christmas holiday !! 2 weeks off - so great And what have I been up to? Long walks to the river, feeding swans (bravely confronting my birds-fobia); sledding in the park (not very bravely but happily), meeting friends (yes, still have some), eating and drinking (once even throwing up afterwards - horrible), watched TV (something we don't have in our London flat - for a very good reason)... I rested and now feel great. Being honest (as always in this diary) - 2 weeks of staying with my family... hmm... I think I can see why it's best that I'm living 800 miles away from them... 27. Week commencing 16/12/02 Wed: I've done about 23 hours of duty & another 12 to go. And? Very very tired, double-vision, major IQ drop (from 80 on Mon to about 60 right now), partial madness and a lot more... What's going to be the next thing I do? Sell my kidney?!? I have to say, again, this is the first and the last time I'm raising 2,5k for a charity. It's Hard Work. Don't get me wrong - I'm still very much obsessed with mental health but this mission may cost me some of my own MH. Cancelled Curry night tonight (because everyone else cancelled) but got £10 from Julia and £5 from Mo. OK - now the really important things: I am going to see LOTR tomorrow!! I think that I'll sleep with my ticket under my pillow - just in case some tries to brake in and steal it from me. I am looking forward to it SO much And I finally managed to get the 'sponsor me on line' link working ... or at least I hope - I'm still a bit technically challenged, you see... 26. Week commencing 9/12/02 Sun: Got back from Venice & have been married for 2 years now! Venice: had a great time. Still have a bit of the 'still feeling as if was on the sea' thing going on (quite certain that someone named it but it's still one of the words I don't know), moving from left to right and back & wondering whether it's something that every Venetian has all the time. Walked a lot, ate a lot of pizza (noticed that every meal had what we decided to call 'tourist tax'), saw a lot of pretty old buildings / pictures / sculptures ... (may add a link with some pictures later). In one word: Lovely !! As always- my passport has been the most interesting reading of the decade it seems. Every single person that had a chance, spent what seemed like hours reading it. Great example - when checking in on our way back another 10 people were served before I got my window seat. Just because the woman had to read through all my stamps (magnificent collection just from 5 years in this country) and than talk about it with her Italian colleges followed by trying to convince me that as a CZ national I should be really flying to Prague. Incredible... ( and guaranteed to drive be mad every time) Tue: OK- the really important things first: I have my ticket for LOTR (great!!) & yesterday I went to the BAFTA screening of Solaris (followed by Q&A with Steven S.... obviously talking mainly about GC's naked 'prdel'). Apart from that... nothing interesting, really... Collected some cash from the blokes at Uli's studio (thanks x) & going to Mo's gig later on today to promote myself / my fundraising and sell some of his great CDs (obviously - keeping the money and forwarding it to Mind) On rather personal note (Warning: Do not read if you are friend / fan of Jezza!) - did someone rewrite the Mental Health Act or is SO easy to appeal against sections nowadays ?!? 25. Week commencing 2/12/02 Sun: The walk did happen. Who attended? Jason, Dan (his brother), John (his father), Mark & me. I announced that if there is at least one person who managed to raise some sponsorship the walk will happen - and so it was just the 5 of us. (It was a bit embarrassing - I invited a lot of people and was hoping that maybe 20 would turn up) Very tired now; considering not going to college tomorrow and having a rest instead (it's my 'annual leave' anyway)... seems like a good idea. Now - this is very important, read carefully: I'd like to warn everyone who is considering doing anything like this sponsored trek. It's a lot of hard work (much more than it may seem) & I'm more than sure that I will not do anything like this ever again. Fri: No swimming this evening - tea, vitamins etc. Got a cold (yak) It also looks like no London walk on Sunday. Cancellations, cancellation etc. And since I have this cold I decided to listen to my radio from my bed rather than walk it on my own. I was complaining to Mark about people who promise but never turn up. He said that it's probably part of being English - they feel that they need to be polite, say 'yes' but then... Can they not be just normal and a bit more honest? Or is it just me - bit too East European maybe... Next week - Mo offered to help me with a bit of promotion during his next gig on Tuesday (Cool!) Anything else? Starting to sell tickets for the x-mas raffle (hand-painted bottle with aromatherapy oils from Emilia, box of wine from Jane and a nice bottle of Czech Absinth to be won) & begging for help everywhere I can (awaiting a few injunctions being taken against me soon ) Less than 2 weeks to LOTR !! Life is great. Tue: The next fundraising event is the London Walk 2. This probably will not surprise anyone - so far I've been getting only cancellations (bastards!). I am really a bit p***ed off with those people who said 'Oh, yes. I will definitely come' and now are saying that 'well, can't make it - other commitments'. This is the thing that really gets me with this fundraising busyness. I can take it when someone is not interested from the day one. But when I get so much 'interest' to begin with, I do all sorts of planning and organising. Then a week or so before the event start contacting people who said that they'd definitely come and... I am not even going to bother wasting words. It may be just me and my walkman (Mark may have to work), listening to the Sunday morning radio... good enough. Shall I mention the responses I am getting re the next curry night? Maybe not... Lets be optimistic (after all - my life is not just about fundraising) First great news - I finally got my 'sponsorship to study' approved by the big bosses. This means that they are giving me half a grand to do the next year of my course AND a day study release. That is simply great. No more early mornings or late evening - just the normal 9 to 5. Second great news -Mark is taking me to Venice to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary (can't believe that it's been 2 years already!). Very very romantic. x I really don't know which one of the 3 is the best ... the third one: just over 2 weeks to the next LOTR (realised that when watching the trailer in a cinema I must remember to close my mouth afterwards) And to top it up (little bit of chocolate sprinkle) - x-mas break is getting nearer. Had my last 2002 counselling session today, last day of this term is next Monday and then 2 weeks off work for x-mas... I really need a break - feel like I've done a bit too much this year. Nearly forgot - fundraising & getting fit(er): Need to do some posters for Emilia's raffle and need to get Mark to help me activate the 'sponsor me on-line' link. I also started collecting people unwanted belongings for the Bring & Buy sale... basically - doing quite a few things but it doesn't seem enough. (If you want to help with some pre-x-mas charity please contact me & I'll e-mail you some forms. Seriously - this is the time when you could help) And my 'getting fit' ? Addicted to swimming, still walking a lot & decided to adjust my diet, drinking + do some serious exercise soon (i.e. After x-mas. It's getting 'serious') 24. Week commencing 25/11/02 Tue: Collected £24 from our Corsica St office from the Dress Down Day ( Claire and Caroline were keeping the £s for me - so thank you girls x) & got £10 from Rita (also from C St office). Cool ! Mon: got £115 from Juliette (sponsorship money raised through London walk 1) - finally over my first grand!! Planning to raffle a bottle of Absinth which I brought from home (very nice and tasty ... or shall I keep it and drink it and... ?); need to do a few little posters re: Emilia's bottle for a raffle; got a reply from Corsica St office re: football (funny - they think they can beat us) etc. Not a lot happening this week but it may give me a bit of time to finish most of my pre-x-mas tasks (long list) & do a few things I need to do for my counselling course. (PS: Gained my brother's respect with my 'new set of stomach muscles') 23. Week commencing 18/11/02 Mon & Tue: work and college - nothing unusual. Wed - weekend: Czech. Again - had a great time. First time in my life flying on my own = adventure (not as a pilot; just as a passenger...!). Day and a bit in Prague - lovely. Couple of days with my family and friends back home - good time. 22. Week commencing 11/11/02 Fri: It's been ages since I last updated this page !! So... what have I been up to? Lots of great stuff Weekend in college was a lot of fun, Monday off work to recover - even better, 4 days at work = bearable & Friday evening swim - lovely (only got a bit too much attention from one of the girls while changing... hmmm) Fundraising: Had to do a couple of changes re: Curry Night 2 because (and I hope they will read this) most of the blokes from Uli's studio are unreliable Square Heads. Anyway - the night went really well & I I had a lot of fun ... obviously - having drunk as much as I have done... I am such an embarrassment !... but who cares? A couple of people agreed to do sponsored weight loss, which is great (Chris' one has been one of the best things so far) By the way - anyone listen to Pete and Geoff on Virgin ? Have you also noticed how lazy some people are when it comes to exercising...? Unbelievable This brings to the point of having to mention my 15 seconds of fame this week. Czech this out & maybe it will even work...(Thu 14/11; 6.40pm ish) http://www.virginradio.co.uk/djsshows/shows/pg/audioclips.html Enough writing, time to go out and have a bit of fun. xx (Wed - Sat next week: in CZ so, sorry, you will not hear from me for a little while) 21. Week commencing 4/11/02 Thu: On Sunday I walked with Mark from King's Cross all way to Liphook Cr, SE23 - across 3 double-pages of A to Z. Great! ( you may be wondering why - we were invited to the greatest fire works party in the whole London - to say the least) And I am still swimming on Fridays and doing my 50 sit-ups 3x a week (I reckon that I am reshaping a bit. My trousers are hanging on me a bit more than usual... I guess that's OK ... Re: fundraising -I have a few things happening (hopefully) soon: Football, Bungee jump, London walk 2 and another Curry Night next Wed and Thu (Click on the links to find out more) There are a few people who keep me going & I'd just like to say Thank you x. I really appreciate the support (because I am well aware that I need it quite a bit) Sat & Sun this week = college. Sorry but do not expect to hear from me until next Tue or so. 20. Week commencing 28/10/02 Sun: pretty low, in no mood for writing about this... Thu: re: sport etc. - I am still swimming once a week, walking about 50km a week and doing my 3x 50 sit-ups every week. So far so good, I'd say (will have to start doing a bit more soon but not this week and probably not the next one either) Fundraising... not SO great. The Halloween drink was yet another event with exceptionally bad attendance (click HERE), which means 2 things: 1. I am still a bit under the line on my graph, which shows how much money I should have raised by now & 2. and I also feel a bit demoralised because, believe it or not, there are still a few people who I hoped would turn up (and, surprise, they did not...) There will be the Curry night 2 in a couple of weeks - that could help a bit (people are still interested & I may even have one especially for the ladies from my councelling diploma... nice...); still chasing Matt S re: the gig; trying to get some more people to come for the walk on 8/12.. it's a bit too much at the moment (all this + college + work + whatever else = I really need some time off soon) There seem to be quite a few people keen on the idea that I have my hair cut... so I guess the haircut will happen - well, it's time... after 10 years ... 19. Week commencing 21/10/02 Fri: Had a swim - lovely. And what happened since Monday? Daydeamt about Samuel L Jackson for a couple of days, organised Curry Night, which went really well (everyone happy & I made £80) & it's been suggested that I should do some more (which, obviously, I will). I have offered to run 'duty marathon' at work (16-20/12/02) & I'm already getting sponsorship from all of those who hate doing duty and those who seriously wonder if it's at all possible to survive more than a day of it (i.e. 99% of the staff) & good advice and / or discouragement. (Just in case you don't know what 'duty' is.. Nightmare: sitting at reception and dealing with calls, people coming in, emergencies etc. Not allowed to read, surf the net, eat or do anything just remotely entertaining. Normally we all do 1/2 day a week p.p.'for England and C33' - and that seems more than enough. Am I brave? Am I mad? Both!) Mon: good start of the week - got a fiver from Emilia who said she'd sponsor me £5 every month until March03. Produced info pack re: the next London walk (Sun8/10/02), Mayton St is building up a football team for a charity match, Wed is the Curry night, next week Halloween... It looks quite good Never mind fundraising... Mark took me to the BAFTA screening of Changing Lanes followed by Q&A with the great, amazing, charming SAMUEL L JACKSON !!! 18. Week commencing 14/10/02 Sun: Have done a lot of walking today, which was cool. Then went to Spices - also very nice. Than one of my friends turned up with her part-time boyfriend ... Want to know more? Click HERE Fri: Interview went fine but I am not able to make it to the whole of their training & they require 100% attendance... Will find out on Wednesday if I got it or not (If the technology moves quickly enough I may be able to clone myself before the 9 Nov. and make it to my college and the training...) By the way - missed my swimming today because of the interview... what a pity... going to have some Gallo wine instead and de-stress that way Thu: Inviting people to the Curry night next Wednesday (info HERE) & Halloween drink 31/10. Responses so far - not exactly great... but hopefully we'll get there eventually. I got invited for an interview for my counselling placement on Friday - fingers crossed... Tue: I am still recovering from the Sunday walk. It was great fun despite the never-ending rain (honestly - it stopped raining only when we stopped in a pub for our well deserved break half-way through). The amount of walking we've done was OK but my left heel feels a bit worse than it did on Sat (am I surprised? Not really) and I don't seem to be able to get rid off the chill that went straight under my skin and into my bones ... as I walked in trousers that were soaked through... It may sound weird but as we walked and had fun, all the discomfort didn't really matter. I had a great time (and now I'm waiting for the money...). Fundraising is getting slightly more complicated since C33 people can't visit my website while at work (obviously during their lunch break) No comment. I guess that there may be a few people who can bypass the firewall (conspiracy theory... hmmm... I wonder what the big bosses download during their lunchbreak...) Since I'm such a web designer nowadays I could also become a computer hacker And Finally: IMPORTANT INFO: Maybe I didn't make it clear last week but as far as I know the only time you may really need a firewall is when you decide to download applications/plug-ins and / or if you have a permanent IP address (that makes you more vulnerable to hacking) - you do not need a firewall to visit my website (only if you are a single-(brain)cell-being who is likely to click 'download' on everything you see - incl. Gator - then you may need it and you will find it useful) I am getting a bit homesick & so I'm looking forward to xXx coming out this week. Definitely going to check out Vin in Prague this weekend (not czech out - if that's what you are thinking of... ho ho) 17. Week commencing 7/10/02 Sunday: We made it! (pictures HERE) Saturday: I am not quite sure how well we've done yesterday during the Dress Down Day (pictures HERE). I had to leave the office at about lunchtime and so I left the form & money (£12) with Gennie. Re sports: I had a really nice long swim yesterday evening (it's my new relaxing way of finishing my working week and I love it) but I am a little worried about the Sunday walk - my left heel has been swollen and hurting me for the past week & so I'm not sure how easy it will be to walk so much. Will see... Thursday: Financially - doing great! I got £10 from Susan, another tenner from Emilia's cycle, one from Thierry, £90 from the gig and one more tenner from Clover (part of her Walk London fundraising). Thank you thank you thank you. So, this is going well. Plus we have the Dress Down / Dress Up Day tomorrow & the walk on Sunday. The 'little' problem at the moment is the fact that Circle are planning to block my website (maybe they've even done it by now) - basically because it's free and it comes with pop-up windows (do they not have fire wall and other 'net protection' ?!? I do and I'm not a f-ing massive company) What it means is that the traffic on my site will go down by 30% (have a look at my people counter and its details) & since we are not allowed to send group e-mails people from other offices will not really know much about the fundraising events. What can I say and not risk being disciplined tomorrow? Thank you (?!?!?) 16. Week commencing 30/9/02 I have a huge blister (again) because I walked a lot this week. Good. I think I'm near to the 50km & it's just Friday! So - the exercise side of this is ok. Money... well, one of the monitors came back so I have £30 less then I had last week. That is not exactly great, is it? But there are quite a few things happening next week so fingers crossed & let's be optimistic (I think that at this stage it's the only option) I need suggestions, I need people willing to help, organise etc. Any offers? I am feeling quite tired - I am back in college, still doing 35 hours at work, weekly counselling, looking for placement (that's one of the hardest one - where am I going to find time for it? No idea), late with my homework, the flat is looking less tidy then it was during summer... the usual, college started again & all the above would be fine if I had a bit more energy left at the end of the week. And finally: Did you know? Men have both - penis and brain! But only enough blood to work one at a time. (Mark told me...) 15. Week commencing 23/9/02 Mark sold 2 more monitors (2x £30); I went to J3 with Mo to prepare for the concert; got a couple of raffle prizes from Michelle; still planning / organising the London walk with Juliette & getting help re: publicity from Ray C. I exchanged a couple of e-mails with Alice who is also doing the walk and has not got much money (finally I don't feel like I am the only one) and Mark helped me today to make a couple of posters (Dress Down Day & Mo's concert). Hmmm... not doing too bad this week. On top of the usual exercise... I started swimming! I think that I have recovered from the initial shock of realising that I may not be able to make it. I'm doing my best but I'm not letting it drain me. I still need to save some energy for work, college, counselling, looking for placement and reasonably happy life (as M says: with my loving husband-cko) 14. Week commencing 16/9/02 Friday 20/9: thought I could let you know that I am feeling a little bit better about this (got another £90 from Chris, help from the girls & moral support... and I've also nearly got over the fact that if it doesn't work out I'll lose £300, will not go to Peru and will have to live with it.) Tuesday 17/9: I do not feel like writing about this anymore. My last group e-mail will say: ' Hi, please help me find the fundraising glove so that I can throw it in...' Lets see if there is anything going ok: I'm moving a lot (for myself, not for the trek or anything else), the wedding was fun, college is interesting... Now - what the f*** am I doing ? Trying to be 'nice' and optimistic & not to bore you guys to death? Convince myself that white is black?Yuck. I will be back when I am feeling better about the whole fundraising business. No point faking it. (soon... x) 13. Week commencing 9/9/02 11. Week commencing 26/8/02 Holiday ! Going home - mainly for the harvest / beer festival during the weekend. If you want to see me having fun click here: www.mesto-zatec.cz/kamera.phtml 10. Week commencing 19/8/02 I had a walk around C33 & Uli's studio with the sponsorship forms, which went quite well. I have finally met Caroline L who is very keen to help & I certainly need people like her. I am considering auctioning my hair for Mind (its length is near to 4 feet - how much can I ask for...?). The only problem is that Mark is threating with divorce if I go ahead with this... Is he joking? Training - a bit better then last week but still not what I'd like it to be. I am learning basics of website design so that I don't have to bother Mark all the time (very proud of myself) PS: skirt is still very popular topic among the Support Co-ordinators at work (managers no longer involved in the discussion - thank God!) 9. Week commencing 12/8/02 7. Week commencing 22/7/02 5. Week commencing 8/7/02 2. Week commencing 17/6/02: |
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So exciting...