I wrote 700 amazing words, which sadly you will never read as Word packed up on me.  Dammit!  So, here we are again, me being useless at keeping this up to date and having to write 700 words to let you know what’s happening.  So, Mum, just for you, I’m hitting the  highpoints:

I have a job.  Not just a temp one.  A full-time contract until my visa expires.  I am thrilled with a regular paycheck and an easy commute.  I would love to stay here in London but I am realistic about that occuring, because in order to do so I would need a workplace to sponsor me or a willing Brit to marry me.  I am not holding my breath for either.  But I shall enjoy myself while I am here.  Out of work hours.  As I appear to have found myself in a quiet office with people who, to quote a colleague, ‘you wouldn’t want to have over for dinner’.  I am not a shy or retiring personality, so this is a bit of an effort on a daily basis, but it is made more bearable by the fact that I have decided to catalogue the random shouting that comes from the other side of the cubicle.  A colleague has a habit of shouting loudly whenever something goes right, or wrong, and breaking the monotony of the hush that is the office.  This morning I heard “Sound the trumpets!”  Apparently, nobody listened as no trumpet sounded, but it would have been pretty awesome had they sounded. 

Recently I’ve been homesick.  And to combat that I made red beans and rice.  I added some of my Papa Joe’s secret cajun seasoning (which comes with me everywhere no matter the country) and it was delicious.  Also was sent home from my summer in the States with some Dirty Rice mixes.  They don’t measure up to my mum’s but they’re still pretty good.  New Orleans, our time together may have been short, but you changed my life and sit softly on my heart.  Tomorrow I am eating BBQ.  And I cannot wait.   I have actually pencilled in a food coma in my diary.  I plan to eat pulled pork, cornbread, drink root beer and generally indulge my love of BBQ.  I am making myself hungry just thinking about it. 

Let me see…  What else has been going on?  Oh, the Rugby World Cup!  Hello!!!  And, phew, the Allblacks are through to the Semis.  Yay.  And against Australia.  Am nervous as all get out ahead of Sunday’s game.  I badly want to see Richie McCaw hold the Webb Ellis trophy aloft.  It’s the stuff of dreams.  Belileving hard for you boys!!!

I spent a long day at the Victoria Apollo last Sunday on cameras filming Hillsong London’s rock opera there.   I was exhausted by the end of the day and I know that there were heaps more people who had been there longer, and contributed many many more hours than I.  I take my hat off to them and wish them weeks of sound sleeps.  I am proud to be part of such a fantastic team and to serve alongside some amazing  folk.  Can’t wait to see the DVD when it’s done.

That’s about the size of things for now.  Oh, except that with the new job comes a uniform.  I have to wear a uniform.  And it’s navy like school.  I am having flashbacks to blazer wearing stocking clad days of old, and they weren’t that great first time round.  Oh, well, will content myself with wearing amazing shoes like this maybe…

and raging against the  uniform machine quietly.