7.37 a.m.: I wake up three minutes before the alarm goes off. It's grey outside and warm in my bed; little rays of light are trickling through the gaps where my venetian blinds are pushed against the window by the various things on the window sill. It's still dark enough to go straight back to sleep. I switch off the alarm function and roll over.
7.57 a.m.: I roll around in bed for a while, enjoying the warmth and softness of the duvet. Wishing it was Saturday, I finally drag myself out of my warm, comfortable bed and with a sorrowful glance at the bed, head off to the bathroom, where I open the window wide to let in lots of fresh air while I have my shower.
8.22 a.m.: Still wet from the shower, I arrive back at my room and instantly congratulate myself on being quicker than I thought. A mad flurry ensues as I attempt to choose an outfit, put on make up and take a wealth of vitamin and mineral tablets.
8.55 a.m.: I have one and a half minutes to straighten my hair and leave the house. My hair is naturally straight, but now it is shorter and layered, it has acquired a bit of a wave at the front. It looks ok, but I only really leave it at the weekend to give my hair a break from the straightners. I pull the red hot straightners through my hair, narrowly missing my little finger as I hold out bits of hair.
8.57 a.m.: Hair still not straightened to my fastidious requirements. I clamp down the irons and pull hard, the run my fingers through my hair. It seems ok, but I'm not sure how well it will hold out through the day. Don't have time to think about it though, and moments later I'm out of the door.
9.02 a.m.: I check the time on the digital clock at the entrance to work, and scan my ID badge which permits my entry. Then I'm through the doors to my building, up in the lift and arrive safely on the seventh floor. I take off my coat, unforward the phone to message bank and set up my computer.
9.12 a.m.: After a quick email and Facebook check for messages, I am putting data into the online database. Fun times.
9.30 a.m.: I realise I left my teabags at home again and that I need to buy milk. Make myself a delicious cup of Green Tea with Orange and Lotus Flower. It will be my first of many, I think.
10.35 a.m.: I'm still inputting data into the online database. I have so much to do today, and am contemplating delegating some to our new Chinese intern, Weng. I am loathe to do this, because he doesn't seem to know what he's doing and if he does it wrong and I need to re-do, it will waste more time. I'm working my way through Danish nominations, and come to a company I can't find in the system. I search for their webpage, but it's only in Danish!! I find contact details, but no idea of what the company is and which industry it belongs to. I impress myself by understanding a fair bit of the text - it's similar to English and German - but am wasting time by trying to understand.
10.45 a.m.: I resort to Wikipedia. I feel slightly ashamed.
11.06 a.m.: An hour until lunch, and I am starving.
1.13 p.m.: Get back from lunch; risotto and pasta in tomato sauce. Sit back down to work; still inputting Denmark's data. It's going to be a long afternoon. :(
2.30 p.m.: Have finally finished the Denmark nominations. The boss is on holiday as of tomorrow, so we have a team meeting about what needs to be done. After meeting, start entering nominations from Italy.
3.32 p.m.: I have had enough of data inputting and nominations. Am ready to jump out of the window. Counting down the minutes until home time. 87.
4.44 p.m.: 16 minutes to go ....... .
5.38 p.m.: I was too late for the bus, so had to walk home in the rain. I was glad I remembered my umbrella! It's grey outside and drizzling - perfect weather to put on pyjamas and curl up with a book! When I have finished this, I will read for a while, then take a shower and snuggle down in bed for a lovely long sleep. :D
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Paaaaaaaaaain
I have got a SPLITTING headache from behind my left eye to the back of my neck. The sun is shining and reflecting off the windows in a neighbouring building, the sky is bright through the window, striking my eye like a knife. The lights are on too, the bright artificial light reflecting up from the huge white paper pad on my desk, on which my laptop sits and millions of important notes are written, infiltrating my peripheral vision. I'm in the office, staring at the computer.
There's no escape from bright light.
Every time I move my head, it feels like a cord being tugged from the back of my neck, pulling my brain and my eyes backwards. It's sore.
There's a nerve in my right arm which is trapped. It shifts from time to time, but my whole arm aches. A dull ache with occasional sharp pains. My elbow hurts, I can't rest on it and the skin is sore when anything touches it, even lightly. My third finger and my little finger tingle, a bit like pins and needles. The bone on the far side of my wrist - the bit that connects my little finger and my arm - is delicate and painful. My arm feels heavy and a burden. It's like it has just been stuck on my body and shouldn't be there. I have so little energy or strength in it, it just hangs limply by my side and hurts.
My legs ache from sitting down all day. My toes are sore from being closeted into trainers which aren't meant to be worn for prolonged periods of time.
My body is weary from early mornings, being in the office from 9-5 and a lack of B vitamins.
I feel old.
There's no escape from bright light.
Every time I move my head, it feels like a cord being tugged from the back of my neck, pulling my brain and my eyes backwards. It's sore.
There's a nerve in my right arm which is trapped. It shifts from time to time, but my whole arm aches. A dull ache with occasional sharp pains. My elbow hurts, I can't rest on it and the skin is sore when anything touches it, even lightly. My third finger and my little finger tingle, a bit like pins and needles. The bone on the far side of my wrist - the bit that connects my little finger and my arm - is delicate and painful. My arm feels heavy and a burden. It's like it has just been stuck on my body and shouldn't be there. I have so little energy or strength in it, it just hangs limply by my side and hurts.
My legs ache from sitting down all day. My toes are sore from being closeted into trainers which aren't meant to be worn for prolonged periods of time.
My body is weary from early mornings, being in the office from 9-5 and a lack of B vitamins.
I feel old.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Light
I LOVE light. I always feel better and happier when the sky is a rich blue and there is sunlight streaming through the windows and showering me when I step outside. And when it is dark or grey outside, I like lots of artificial light.
Reason: I can see better. It keeps me happy.
My room is lovely and light now. That was one thing I was really struggling with in this room, because I have very little natural light, days are shorter and I don't have much artificial light either. Obviously my new super cool lamp has altered that, but today I made it even better.
One: I changed the bed. I love fresh bedding, and I have changed it from my very cool purple and beige set, which is very patterned and kinda dark (in comparison with my other set) to my cream and pink set. The sheet and bottom pillow cases are bright pink and the duvet and upper pillow cases are cream with pink embroidered flowers (diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right corner of the duvet and on the far right side of the pillow cases, with the result that it is mainly cream and bright :o) ).
Two: I pulled the dark blue venetian blinds down on the window. Germans don't have curtains, so besides the venetian blinds, I only have some hideous patterned lacy net thing across the window. Yuck. Also, it means that all the light escapes at night, and people can see in. :o(
So now I have pulled down the blinds and it is lighter and feels kinda cosier. It's still a dump though, but it's ok.
I added some new pictures to my dA today: www.elenamay.deviantart.com and one of them was favourited before I even got from the bit about whether I want to sell it as a print to the actual page for it.
*pride*
Reason: I can see better. It keeps me happy.
My room is lovely and light now. That was one thing I was really struggling with in this room, because I have very little natural light, days are shorter and I don't have much artificial light either. Obviously my new super cool lamp has altered that, but today I made it even better.
One: I changed the bed. I love fresh bedding, and I have changed it from my very cool purple and beige set, which is very patterned and kinda dark (in comparison with my other set) to my cream and pink set. The sheet and bottom pillow cases are bright pink and the duvet and upper pillow cases are cream with pink embroidered flowers (diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right corner of the duvet and on the far right side of the pillow cases, with the result that it is mainly cream and bright :o) ).
Two: I pulled the dark blue venetian blinds down on the window. Germans don't have curtains, so besides the venetian blinds, I only have some hideous patterned lacy net thing across the window. Yuck. Also, it means that all the light escapes at night, and people can see in. :o(
So now I have pulled down the blinds and it is lighter and feels kinda cosier. It's still a dump though, but it's ok.
I added some new pictures to my dA today: www.elenamay.deviantart.com and one of them was favourited before I even got from the bit about whether I want to sell it as a print to the actual page for it.
*pride*
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
A Busy Old Week!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwOL4rB-go&feature=related
That video is so funny; I definitely recommend that you watch it. (but don't get offended).
I need to get better at writing in my blog. Once a week is shocking.
But last week was AWESOME!
I had a visitor from Wednesday until Friday morning - a friend from uni, Cara, who came over for a job interview to take over from me. And she got it!! Yay Cara! And we had such fun while she was here; on Wednesday night we went to Pizza Hut and talked and talked and talked, which was so lovely! Then on Thursday, we went to a Mexican restaurant in town. We had a blast - we laughed so much and ate the most delicious food. I will definitely be coming to visit her when she is here!
I also read one of the best books I have read in a long time.
Week 3:
Alphabet Weekends - Elizabeth Noble
It took me a while to get into it, but once I did, it was so good!
This week we had more job interviews; two girls got offered jobs on the spot, and the guy we interviewed is probably going to get the job too!
One of the girls, Catharina, isn't going to be working in our team though, which is a shame because she was really nice. She is going to be working with Claudia though, so hopefully we will still see her at lunch and things. :) The other girl, Milena, is from Bulgaria and is going to start with us next week!
And possibly my most exciting news; last night I finally found a desk lamp for my room. Wow, what an excitinhg life I lead. But seriously, it's so cool! It is just a standard, slightly posh looking desk lamp, but it also has this little extra bit that's a lava lamp! It's awesome, and it cost less than 10€!! haha i need to get out more.
Well, that's all for now because I have literally nothing to write about!
xx
That video is so funny; I definitely recommend that you watch it. (but don't get offended).
I need to get better at writing in my blog. Once a week is shocking.
But last week was AWESOME!
I had a visitor from Wednesday until Friday morning - a friend from uni, Cara, who came over for a job interview to take over from me. And she got it!! Yay Cara! And we had such fun while she was here; on Wednesday night we went to Pizza Hut and talked and talked and talked, which was so lovely! Then on Thursday, we went to a Mexican restaurant in town. We had a blast - we laughed so much and ate the most delicious food. I will definitely be coming to visit her when she is here!
I also read one of the best books I have read in a long time.
Week 3:
Alphabet Weekends - Elizabeth Noble
It took me a while to get into it, but once I did, it was so good!
This week we had more job interviews; two girls got offered jobs on the spot, and the guy we interviewed is probably going to get the job too!
One of the girls, Catharina, isn't going to be working in our team though, which is a shame because she was really nice. She is going to be working with Claudia though, so hopefully we will still see her at lunch and things. :) The other girl, Milena, is from Bulgaria and is going to start with us next week!
And possibly my most exciting news; last night I finally found a desk lamp for my room. Wow, what an excitinhg life I lead. But seriously, it's so cool! It is just a standard, slightly posh looking desk lamp, but it also has this little extra bit that's a lava lamp! It's awesome, and it cost less than 10€!! haha i need to get out more.
Well, that's all for now because I have literally nothing to write about!
xx
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
January Blues
Ok, so I have the January blues, tinged with a little homesickness.
For me, January is the post-Christmas come down; cold weather, dark mornings and a long wait until the next holiday. And worse, this year I am away from home and away from England with not enough time to go home for weekends like I do at uni. :(
But on the bright side, the days here are sunny with lots of blue sky, the evenings are at last drawing out so it is no longer dark when I leave work and arrive home (if I go straight there), and possibly best of all, I have brought back with me a three series box set of one of my favourite TV shows - 'The House of Eliott', a BBC series from the late 80s/early 90s about two sisters effectively left with nothing when their father dies and how they end up founding their own fashion house. It's set in the 1920s and I have seen every 50-minute episode a million times since I first discovered it aged 13 or 14. It (in addition to Daphne Du Maurier's 'Rebecca') is responsible for my falling in love with that era. I am only on episode six of series one, so I have ages to go until the end. I am rationing how often I watch it, so I can enjoy it for longer. :o)
I also have with me box sets of the 1995 BBC adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice', which I haven't watched for years, 'Bleak House' and the 1997 ITV adapatation of my beloved 'Rebecca', in addition to a variety of movies which I didn't ask to be sent over with my dad. I am thoroughly looking forward to watching each and every one in the coming months.
And of course, I have my many books. I think I counted 28 unread ones on my Munich shelves (several more at home in Nottingham). I am here until the end of "Calendar Week" 26 ... can I read them all? I don't think so. Among them is 'Anna Karenina'. It is incredibly long and, as it is Russian, and Tolstoy at that, rather complicated, especially for someone as small brained as myself. Nevertheless, I intend to give it a go; just not yet. Haha.
I am trying to make myself read faster, because I think I am quite slow at it. Long books with small type in a "at least one book a week" timescale will, I am sure, help.
So far I have stuck to this resolution:
Week 1:
Shopaholic Ties The Knot - Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic and Sister - Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic and Baby - Sophie Kinsella
Week 2:
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
I am quite pleased with this. I no longer travel for over an hour on trains, plus waiting times, and I am working full time.
I am looking forward to heading out to Portugal in July. Long sun-drenched days, cheap shopping, beaches, and best of all ... lots of time for reading!
I'm such a geek. Haha.
In other news, I have added a new photograph to my dA. Without boasting, I am quite pleased with it. You can view it here: http://elenamay.deviantart.com/art/Red-Sky-At-Night-74371883
I can feel my photography improving all the time, and I am considering selling some of my work as prints. But I'm not sure. I don't know if anyone would buy them. If you look at my work and think it is worth selling, please let me know. :o)
For me, January is the post-Christmas come down; cold weather, dark mornings and a long wait until the next holiday. And worse, this year I am away from home and away from England with not enough time to go home for weekends like I do at uni. :(
But on the bright side, the days here are sunny with lots of blue sky, the evenings are at last drawing out so it is no longer dark when I leave work and arrive home (if I go straight there), and possibly best of all, I have brought back with me a three series box set of one of my favourite TV shows - 'The House of Eliott', a BBC series from the late 80s/early 90s about two sisters effectively left with nothing when their father dies and how they end up founding their own fashion house. It's set in the 1920s and I have seen every 50-minute episode a million times since I first discovered it aged 13 or 14. It (in addition to Daphne Du Maurier's 'Rebecca') is responsible for my falling in love with that era. I am only on episode six of series one, so I have ages to go until the end. I am rationing how often I watch it, so I can enjoy it for longer. :o)
I also have with me box sets of the 1995 BBC adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice', which I haven't watched for years, 'Bleak House' and the 1997 ITV adapatation of my beloved 'Rebecca', in addition to a variety of movies which I didn't ask to be sent over with my dad. I am thoroughly looking forward to watching each and every one in the coming months.
And of course, I have my many books. I think I counted 28 unread ones on my Munich shelves (several more at home in Nottingham). I am here until the end of "Calendar Week" 26 ... can I read them all? I don't think so. Among them is 'Anna Karenina'. It is incredibly long and, as it is Russian, and Tolstoy at that, rather complicated, especially for someone as small brained as myself. Nevertheless, I intend to give it a go; just not yet. Haha.
I am trying to make myself read faster, because I think I am quite slow at it. Long books with small type in a "at least one book a week" timescale will, I am sure, help.
So far I have stuck to this resolution:
Week 1:
Shopaholic Ties The Knot - Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic and Sister - Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic and Baby - Sophie Kinsella
Week 2:
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
I am quite pleased with this. I no longer travel for over an hour on trains, plus waiting times, and I am working full time.
I am looking forward to heading out to Portugal in July. Long sun-drenched days, cheap shopping, beaches, and best of all ... lots of time for reading!
I'm such a geek. Haha.
In other news, I have added a new photograph to my dA. Without boasting, I am quite pleased with it. You can view it here: http://elenamay.deviantart.com/art/Red-Sky-At-Night-74371883
I can feel my photography improving all the time, and I am considering selling some of my work as prints. But I'm not sure. I don't know if anyone would buy them. If you look at my work and think it is worth selling, please let me know. :o)
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Goodbye 2007, Hello 2008
Okie dokie folks, it's 2008, so first of all ...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
2007 was a big year for me, and I achieved lots of things. I don't stick to new year's resolutions, so i'm not making any for 2008, instead setting myself some goals of things I want to achieve. I think I have more chance of achieving them if I make them goals, rather than "resolving" to do something.
Things I achieved in 2007:
1. Beating Depression. (as much as I think it is possible to do)
2. Surviving Six Months Away From Home.
3. Taking up and Sticking To A New Hobby.
4. Improving My German To A (practically) Fluent Standard.
5. Visiting Paris Alone.
6. Getting My Hair Cut.
7. Making New Friends At Uni.
Things I want to achieve in 2008:
1. Read At Least One Book A Week.
2. Finish My Novel.
3. Learn Portuguese.
4. Forget About The Boy.
5. Be Healthier. (eat better, drink more water, exercise more)
6. Improve and Expand My Photography Skills.
7. Manage My Time Better.
8. Lose Weight and Tone Up.
9. Be Better With Money.
10. Take Up A New Hobby. (and stick to it)
11. Start Learning French Again.
12. Visit A New City.
My motto for 2008:
"The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all."
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
2007 was a big year for me, and I achieved lots of things. I don't stick to new year's resolutions, so i'm not making any for 2008, instead setting myself some goals of things I want to achieve. I think I have more chance of achieving them if I make them goals, rather than "resolving" to do something.
Things I achieved in 2007:
1. Beating Depression. (as much as I think it is possible to do)
2. Surviving Six Months Away From Home.
3. Taking up and Sticking To A New Hobby.
4. Improving My German To A (practically) Fluent Standard.
5. Visiting Paris Alone.
6. Getting My Hair Cut.
7. Making New Friends At Uni.
Things I want to achieve in 2008:
1. Read At Least One Book A Week.
2. Finish My Novel.
3. Learn Portuguese.
4. Forget About The Boy.
5. Be Healthier. (eat better, drink more water, exercise more)
6. Improve and Expand My Photography Skills.
7. Manage My Time Better.
8. Lose Weight and Tone Up.
9. Be Better With Money.
10. Take Up A New Hobby. (and stick to it)
11. Start Learning French Again.
12. Visit A New City.
My motto for 2008:
"The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all."
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