gumtree

❊ i've spent most of the week lost in my favourite website, 'gumtree'... a little world of its own... through the wondrous gumtree we found our nightclub job, which we absolutely adore, then we found our lovely new housemates, darren & mona, yet to move in...
our latest toys, also from gumtree, are a pair of vintage grandma bicycles from verona, (called romeo & juliet, naturally)... we've been riding them everywhere. jerry looks so gorgeous on his red romeo, covered in rust, plastic bag holding the seat together. juliet is slightly classier with woven cane basket and matching mudguards.

this week through gumtree i managed to find a local theatre group which have asked me to audition for one of the parts; 'Honesty/Naïve/Staid/Cunning' in the first of a series of fringe musicals which the producer is hoping will reach west end by the london olympics... i admire his ambition and though id love a lead role, i'd be happy doing costumes and makeup, just to be involved...

i also found an extra job for a movie being filmed in london called 'the lotus eaters', i'll be in the background of a pool-side scene, in a bikini.... probably freezing to death knowing london summer weather, but at least its something fun to do....
what i'd really love to do is be making movies... on gumtree there were intern positions for small film production companies and that'd be the best way into the industry but of course they're unpaid jobs, which i cant do when trying to save for a big thailand wedding..

tomorrow i start a nanny job, looking after a gorgeous little girl called cosma. ive had so many responses to my 'australian nanny' ad posted on gumtree, including the following:

'I am a male nanny (Manny) and looking for a lady to be the one I look after for a few hours. But you must understand I am very strict, so when you are rude or impolite to me I will put you over my knee, lift up your short skirt, pull down your knickers a little way and reveal your bum, then I will lightly spank your bum with my hand. I will pay you £60 per hour neg. If you do not want this but have alternative fun job to do then I will be only too glad to consider it.'

I wonder if he's had as much luck with gumtree as I have...

farewell worlds

✥ saying goodbye is always hard, no matter how much practice you get at it....
worlds left london today, to move back home to sweden where the grass is greener. i got all choked up in my throat watching him leave the apartment, ducking his head under the doorway, his big rucksack on his back, his room empty behind him...
jerry took him to the station and with them both gone, i began to reflect on all the good times we've had these last few months, and couldn't help but start crying!.... london can be a lonely place when you don't know anyone, but the whole time, jerry and i have had more than each other- we've had worlds as well...
a loyal friend, a great housemate... always up for a party, for a movie night, for a home-dinner night, to be on my side in arguments with jerry, to carry the shopping bags, to give me shoulder rides home after partying when i can't walk in my high heels anymore... he's been such a big part of my life here and now i feel like i took him for granted....

we finally decided on new housemates, who seem lovely and are moving in in a few weeks, but i can't imagine being as comfortable with anyone else as i was with worlds...

farewell and good luck to the worlds tallest guy and best friend... you're already missed :o)

rasmus comes to london

* rasmus, our dear friend from stockholm, arrived in london like a tornado, sweeping us up and taking us on a crazy whirlwind ride... all of a sudden london became fun and fabulous, even for jerry and worlds who have recently become so bitter about the place...

luckily we all had the week off work so we could pack each day with fun and adventure. we went to see live bands, partied at exclusive clubs, ate in china town, drank in soho, shopped in oxford st... we went to fun parlours, pool halls, cocktail competitions, visited our friend abas's turkish restaurant and stuffed ourselves on delicious mezze platters. then on the last day we decided to catch the train to brighton to see the sea. it was such a lovely sunny day and we spent it lazing at cafes on the beach, walking along the promenade, wandering through the amusement park on the pier, and drinking beers in the charming cobbled alleys..

we got totally hooked on an iphone quiz game called MIG and got so competitive with it that we designed prizes for the winner and punishments for the loser. i lost both games and had to swim in the sea (freezing cold), buy a round of beers and drink 5 shots of straight vodka without wincing.

yesterday rasmus went back to sweden, the whirlwind swept itself away and left us all stranded, confused and a little melancholy. the house was totally ravaged, all the washing needing washing and all the dishes needed dish-washing. after eating out at restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner (plus all the drinking), we've forced ourselves back on to a strict exercise routine and a tight budget! ..ah back to reality...

but what a fun week its been!

little black dresses & alpha males

❋ although i love bartending at work, what i really wanted to do was VIP cocktail waitressing. those girls rake in the cash and it's a much more social and glamorous job. for starters they don't have to wear the unflattering boys uniform that i'm stuck in behind the bar..
so, on friday night my boss asked me if i wanted to do VIP waitressing. i, of course jumped at the chance, pulled out my littlest black dress and planned to hit that VIP room like a hurricane, up-sell to the shithouse and make such a good impression that i'd get the job permanently....... hmmm... the black dress turned lots of heads but i got stuck with the staff party who of course didn't want to drink anything if it wasn't free and definitely didn't want to tip. plus the girls treated me like i was crashing their party, even though i was giving them (free) VIP service.. i was so disappointed at my chance to make a 'good impression' ...

i'd also pinned my hopes on the family around the corner who i had my first nanny interview with. but they didn't call back... i started to get really insecure. what didn't they like about me? normally i'm really good in interviews. oh what's going on this week?! how i'd love to see myself through someone else's eyes... wouldn't it be interesting to know what other people really thought of you? people like jerry don't care at all and that's what makes him such a cool person. he's really take-it-or-leave-it with his personality...whereas i'm always battling with self-improvement.

i had an interview with a nanny agency today and they lined up a list of families who suit me... on the list was a Mrs La Fage De Fontenay. 'i would like that one please'. with a name like that, they're either eccentrics or aristocracy and bound to be fun either way... by some ridiculous coincidence, holly, a family friend of mine also living in london, had the next appointment after me at the agency (neither of us knew the other was becoming a nanny), called me later and told me that the bosses were saying nice things about me... 'oh yeah, like what?' ;o)

worlds has decided to leave in 10 days so we're crunching through the housemate interviews. there's been some ridiculous ones and some really nice ones but we're being super picky and hanging out that little bit longer just in case 'the perfect housemates come along... 'basically we want people exactly like you and me, don't we?!' i said to jerry. 'no!... i have to be the alpha male in the house so i definitely don't want someone like me', was his reply. oh my god....

:o)

small world

* i was in the elevator on my way up to work and the guy standing across from me looked strangely familiar. he was a photographer at the event we were hosting: 'britain's next top-model' and after watching him for a while, wondering where the hell i knew him from, it hit me...

the first time i ever went to thailand, eight years ago with my girlfriend sarah, we met these two english guys, ollie and joe, and spent the next two weeks with them on koh samui and koh phangan, partying on the beach, doing magic mushroom pulp fiction karaoke shows, mountain trecks and snorkelling trips, truth and dare by beach bonfire... we had so much fun that sarah cried when we left them to go home. she actually had a huge crush on ollie but was too shy to act on it (i later had to assure a jealous jerry that there was nothing romantic in my friendship with them). we lost contact after thailand and never heard from them again..
as i was setting up the bar it dawned on me who the photographer was... 'excuse me, is your name ollie?" ...'yes! i recognised you in the lift! what are you doing in london? i thought i'd never see you girls again!"
....shit, its been 8 years! i was so happy to see him! what a small world! i told him about sarah's crush and he slapped himself in the face and told me he knew and that not doing anything about it has been the biggest regret of his life... he liked her too!! i couldn't wait to tell sarah! although of course theres no point now, it was a long time ago and she's now happily in love with a handsome prince charming... but good for some closure all the same.

i got another nice surprise today when my friend pia posted a blog about our wedding save-the-date fridge magnets, which are being sent out sporadically, as we collect addresses.. they look so good, if i do say so myself. so annoying that i got the website wrong on it!! for anyone who's interested, its annaandjerry.webstarts.com

:o)

life is good

✳ despite the weather, we've dragged ourselves out of the sad slump we were in. we found a gorgeous pub around the corner on the canal which we've decided will be our local from now on. they do delicious food and free barbecues on thursdays and the terrace overlooking the canal is really nice!

we also joined virgin active gym, where we got nice discounts for working for virgin! they've got some great classes that i'm looking forward to: zumba, bellydance and hip-hop, as well as yoga and pilates and all the rest! and jerry's so much happier when he's working out.

we've also started interviewing for housemates to fill worlds's room when he leaves. to lower our rent, we decided to advertise for a couple and charge double rent. our ad on gumtree got a flood of responses, so we're screening the candidates, judging them on how they describe themselves. jerry's discriminating purely on nationality. in the beginning he demanded that we only accept swedes or aussies, but he's mellowed out a bit now and will consider english and some europeans... one couple wrote 'we are fenomenal but humble people', which we loved and replied to straight away...

work's been fun as well. yesterday i worked in the spanish garden bar. it was glorious weather and i spent the day serving pimms cocktails, surrounded by a sea of flowers, the fountain trickling behind me and the jazz band playing directly in front of me. at one point one of the resident ducks walked past followed by her baby ducklings and i instantly had a new appreciation for my job....

life is good :o)

mary poppins

'... fish, chips, cup o' tea, bad food, worse weather, mary fucking poppins, you know... london!?' (snatch)

jerry came back from his two weeks in sweden and sank into a miserable grumpiness, deciding he hates london. coming from utopian sweden, he sees it as a big downgrade.
worlds is so fed up with the crappy salary that he's decided to go home.. i'd actually been enjoying myself here so it was a bit of a downer jerry being so bitter about the place, but i reminded him that we're stuck here now anyway, with a lease agreement signed, course fees paid and nowhere else to go! so we have to make the most of it...he's agreed to give it a chance. i wish i could make him love london like i do......
why do i love it so much, he wonders? well firstly, they speak my language here, and that's a huge bonus after living so many years in countries where i'm the foreigner in the bubble; secondly, even if our wages are low, it still feels like the land of opportunities, waiting for us to discover; thirdly, theres so much action, so much going on around you here that you feel like youre in the centre of the world.... i dont really know what it is to be honest...just the vibe.

i decided to apply for some jobs as a nanny. apparently there's more money in it than working in restaurants.. and i make a good mary poppins. kids always love me for some reason... so i signed up with an agency and posted an ad on gumtree and my first interview is today, with a family who live right around the corner from my house!

:o)

love, and other indoor sports

❉ jerry was supposed to come home this morning and i was so looking forward to meeting him at the airport to do one of those romantic movie scene run-up-and-jump kisses.... then his flight was delayed and he's coming tonight instead :o( ... i'll be at a party we were invited to, so we won't get to do the airport PDA...
these last two weeks he's been gone have dragged on like two years! i hate doing relationships long distance. i have to do it with all my family and nearly all my friends as it is!

while jerry's been away ive been getting back into wedding planning. mum and i decided on wedding invitations which are gonna be really unique and special and she's gonna hand-make them all individually. i told her she doesn't have to go to so much trouble and she answered 'i only have one daughter'. aaaaawww!!! i love my mumsy.
i've also been brainstorming wedding dress ideas with my cousin giorgia and my BF lucy, and pleading the wedding photo-journalist to book us in, even though we don't have the deposit...her wedding folio is so amazing that you cry as you watch the slideshow...

i still can't believe i'm getting married! as a kid i always said i wouldn't bother. my parents never got married, which my primary school friends all thought was quite shocking, but out of all our parents, mine were the only ones still together!

i considered marriage a few times... once during uni with my swedish friend and housemate jeanette, so that she could get an australian passport and i could get a european one. then again with my ex boyfriend for similar visa-related reasons.. (thank god we didnt!)
now i think weddings are probably the most meaningful and special of all celebrations... what's better than love? and what a fabulous excuse for a big party that everyone has to come to!