Getting in to it

One week and counting, and I'm loving every minute! Last night I had a conflict of interest because my friend O was cooking me dinner and there was a lesbian meet at a cafe in town which I really wanted to go to, but as I'd not seen my friend for ages I decided to opt for that and go when I'm free. I stood at the tube station waiting for O and it was so surreal! It's been just over three years since we last saw each other as we lost touch for a while when I moved to Sheffield. I wondered if he'd be any different, what had changed in his life if anything and where to start when telling him about my stuff. We both sort of did a double take when he walked up to me, and then hugged for ages while Una looked on like "what the fuck? Why is he so special?" He's exactly the same and once we got talking it was like we'd never been out of touch at all. He has a gorgeous house in a nice area and while I was there I begged him to rent out his spare room to me which he uses for proffessional massage at the moment. I told him I'd pay him as much as I could and he said he'd think it over, although he's off to LA in September. We spent all afternoon in his garden sitting on the grass chatting until my hey fever started getting really bad and then we retreated to the lovely cool airiness of his lounge. In the evening he cooked pasta with tiger prawns in garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chilli, spinach and corjet which i can't spell. It was delicious, and afterwards we had strawberries and chocolate brownie ice cream, and then I curled up on the sofa wrapped in his dressing gown while he lounged on cushions on the floor. It was so lovely to see him again, he's one of very few men that I feel completely relaxed with. He's in his forties and he's gay, and he's just so lovely and kind. He couldn't get over the size of my breasts and kept saying, "they're fabalicious!" which made me giggle. He's inviting some of his lesbian friends round to dinner sometime soon so that I can meet people, he called one of them up while I was there to see if she was free for dinner, and he said, "there's a new gay girl in town and she's got fabulous breasts!" I told him to shut up, I won't be able to face her if we do meet. Anyway O and I are meeting up on Friday afternoon for coffee and cake and in the evening we're all going out for Baby G's birthday drinks and dinner I think.

Today I went in to work for an induction and was very relieved to make it all the way there without getting lost. Actually I was twenty minutes early, and the other new starter was late, and he can see! Very amusing. All my team seem lovely, and by the sounds of it I'm being given quite a big project to do as soon as I start, which although is scary will be quite exciting and challenging I think. Tonight I'm trying to sort out going to a group that meet on Wednesdays, but I'm not sure if I'll pull it off yet.

I also wanted to mention the latest book I've read. It's called The Lollypop Shoes by Joanne Harris, and is the sequel to Chocolat. If you haven't read Chocolat, read that one first and then The Lollypop Shoes, but those of you who are Harris fans won't be disappointed with this one. It's just as magical with a dark and sinister side and is narrated by three different people which also holds your interest really well. Definitely worth reading, and it's fairly light if you're after something that's not too taxing. Bye for now.

Settling in

I'm settling in to the new house rather better than I thought I would, and I'm learning to adapt to the new living arrangements quite nicely. On Thursday night I went for dinner with friends in Earl's Court, some of whom I haven't seen in absolutely ages, and although the food wasn't great, it was good to catch up with what every one is up to. Over the weekend DL came and we sorted out bits and bobs around the house and I cooked us dinner on Saturday night. I've also been having intensive orientation training with the dog over the past few days, and I've discovered that I've possibly chosen the worsed place in London to live in with regards to getting to work. It's going to take me just over an hour and a half to get there and it involves busses, tubes and walking, lovely! That'll certainly wake me up in the morning, especially travelling during rush hour. I popped in to the office today while I was in the area, ahead of my induction day on Wednesday, and my team all seem lovely and friendly, and I have a feeling I'll enjoy working there. I also really like the woman who's helping me with the dog, we spend more time chatting than we do anything else, and she says that her brother has a really lovely house much closer to my work and is possibly looking for a new flatmate. Tonight I was supposed to be meeting up with some friends for dinner, but the woman who was organising it, one of my ex house mates from my first year at uni has been stranded in Nottingham and so has cancelled, so I'm going to open a bottle of wine instead. Tomorrow I'm meeting up with a dear old friend of mine, O, who I haven't seen in just over three years. We lost touch and reconnected recently and we're both very excited about the meet. If there's anyone who can help me get on to the gay scene in London, it's him. I've also been in touch with a couple of gay groups and will hopefully be going along to them some time soon.

My mother is still haveng kittens, and keeps calling and saying things like, "you're too far away, I can't just drive for an hour and see you anymore," and, "I don't like the thought of you living in London, it's so big!" Which is quite amusing and I've told her to calm down. I think she's hoping I'll hate it and miraculously want to go back to the home town I left five years ago, not gonna happen mum. I'm off to cook some dinner and open that wine...