krustmuffs

and so it begins. or perhaps it should be... when will it stop?

chronology is a tiring concept at the best of times. so there goes the caution and here comes the wind. retro is the new retro right? or something. so it is now. the end of the calendar and finally the concept of a new year makes sense. thanks northern hemisphere.

um. news. we are. new. to chisswick. but don't say it cos people won't get it. chizzock. that's where we @. we have a good as house with 4 others - 1 couple (kiwi and scott who we haven't met yet!), kiwi lass and aussie bloke. house is pretty huge and plush by the standards established by our extensive searching throughout most of the london boroughs.... we are up kinda high but not so much that i hate the walk up the stairs (in fact i kinda pretend i am exercising)... our bedroom looks out towards the sunrise (8AM, just when i am eating my cornflakes cos i don't start till 930!). the sun slides across the horizon at a smooth 15 degree inclination, so out the same window i can see the sun set (was 4.15 when i was awoken from my first london siesta by the glowing orb). huge kitchen and living - so its cool for you to come and have dinner, or maybe stay a little while (nice little dossing spot by the heater). yesterday we walked to the river (the thames that is) and then the cheese shop. along the way we discovered our local brewery (some fruity ale which, contrary to popular myth, is not flat and icky). all in all a nice area - feel a little lost without our baby stroller (or zimmer frame) but its easy and nice.

then you get to come to the east side where its all at. in the ditch. shore ditch. sssshhhhh ... it's shore ditch. i am working east and its fabulous. kinda like cuba st with a couple of bypasses already put thru, ripped up, built on, put thru again and then forgotten about. nice blend of decrepitude and style (all in the beholders eye of course!) - i work in the most picturesque part - Hoxton Square thanks - regular village square - grass, trees, no squirrels... i should really go and enjoy it. but the lure of the internet is too great. there is so much to do! check emails. check emails. download updates. check for new music. find a game. play a game. check emails. send emails. make phone calls. draw a flow diagram (i knew engineering would come in handy). eat chocolate (cos its christmas - did i mention that?). my job is acer than ace. although its kinda tough and most of the time i don't know what i am doing. but everyone smiles and laughs at my jokes. but i am excited about the things i am learning and the power for global domination that it brings. soon, not only will i be able to control all televsision, but also all of teh internet too. very powerful. i think its called new media. or something.

i will let alana tell her story as she is much better than i.

right now its 9pm and i am half way thru my tube (1 change) ride home. good time for emails and blogs huh? alana is cooking me dinner and then we will talk about our day and then probably play twister. sometimes we visit our friends. we have 2. or so. nige and melissa live about 15 mins away, so lotsa good catching up with them. and ARE making other friends. not just new zealanders. but really the people most like new zealanders cos really they are the best people in the world. sad but true. nothing like bit of one eyed myopia.

what else? this is the part where i try to connect with you individually. how are YOU? i probably miss you. and would love to come over for a barbie and a bevvie. or two. i think you can post them though. 72F Chisswick high rd. W4 1SY. London. easy.

do you know anything? new or old is ok. i probably don't know it because we haven't talked for a wee while now. sorry about that. i do hope that life is a fabulous place in which you can act out your greatest dreams and fulfill your deepest desires. because if its not then its not, right? right.

what else. nothing.

now it is 10.15 and I am alana. London is pretty great and pretty crazy at the same time. I my first pay in mr pound tomorrow which will no doubt be pretty great. Jon arriving home so late can be attributed to the pretty crazy side of things. After living in each others pockets (along with spare change, chewing gum and the ubiquitous travel map) since leaving nz in april, this past month in London has been a bread and water fast. i miss our mid afternoon siestas!

what else? jon's pants are now see-through which is rather thrilling. cheap.tho.it may.be (i don't get to see much of him, but when I do...)

My job is a job. i don't love it like jon loves his job hence i get home lots earlier to cook tea. the people at my work are pretty nice, lots of science nerds who are scared of the c word (that would be creativity) and lots of regular ol' englishies who're all rather nice 'n proper. yeah. init. Some days my brain hurts from all the thinking i'm inflicting on it. this can't possibly be good for me in the long run so i'll have to convince them to create (theres that c word again) a science for dummies role just for me. this would be acer.

one day i plan to paint a picture or two, learn more italian, take dancing lessons and plan whirlwind weekend trips to europe. For now I'm content to knit my way to work and back, on my overgound-underground-train. (4 tube stops @ 2 min per stop ain't a bad commute for this town)

London feels like a good place to be. right now. it is a long way from home. and will take a long time to feel like home. if ever. but for now it is our home. and I'm likin' it.

I wonder, like jon does, what it is you do and how and why and when and where and do you have skype? coz its really wicked and we'd love to talk to you.

what else? I have learnt that while the charm in brick is limited, fog never ceases to enchant.

and so, ho ho, a big fat minus five merry ol' norther krismus blowing at you, I guess. Be a gem and send us a little summer. lovin. jalaha