jerry's surprise birthday party

❄ i woke jerry up at 10 oclock on friday morning telling him to get ready because i had a surprise for him. 'ahh, why are you waking me up so early?! i have to work tonight!' ...'no you dont baby. we're going to the airport....'
over the last few weeks i'd organised a surprise birthday party for him in stockholm with all his friends and family. id booked flights, a room in a swishy hotel in the centre of town and sent out facebook invitations telling everyone to be at the restaurant 'undici', waiting for us to arrive on friday night....
i'd been so careful at keeping the whole thing a secret and shit it was hard!

on friday morning i'd packed his bags while he slept and laid out a warm outfit for him in preparation for the swedish winter. on the way to the airport i told him that my birthday present to him was a trip to stockholm for the weekend. he was totally ecstatic! i lead him to believe we were staying with friends as we usually do when we visit stockholm, and that him and i were having a romantic dinner at a restaurant where two of his best friends work, where they'd be looking after us.

he was one big smile the whole journey. he misses his friends so much and never gets to go back home because of school and work, so i was happy to hear that it was the best present he's ever received. it was so nice surprising him for the second time with the luxurious room at the lovely 'hotel stureplan'. we quickly got ready and walked around the corner to the restaurant. as we walked in the front door, 25 people were blowing party poppers and screaming 'surprise!!'.

it was a fantastic night! so nice to see all our old friends who i haven't seen since we left sweden. and lovely to see jerry's family who we don't get to see enough of...everybody was so happy and drunk and excited to see us...the night for me is a blur of dancing, doing rounds of shots, hugging and kissing everyone, telling them how much i loved them and missed them. jerry's stepdad (who spent the night spinning all the girls around on the dance floor) was the first to get kicked out of the club later for being too drunk, jerry's brother was the second and i was the third. to be fair, they're SO strict about that stuff in sweden! ...and i lasted until 4.30am anyway so it was a pretty good effort....

the main thing was that jerry had an absolute ball, was touched to his heart by the ones he loves and had a birthday that he'll never forget... 
he told me he didnt know how he could possibly compete with that for my 30th birthday coming up in january... i told him its not a competition and that i got as much pleasure out of his present as he did...which is true.

:o)

babyccinos & love letters

❉ this week i started my new nanny job looking after the adorable 'miss A'. she's two and a half and the only child of a super laid-back family, living in kensington. the best thing about the job is that its just me and the kid and we can do as we please... on tuesday i took her to the delightful and very posh 'peggy porschen parlour' for a vanilla chiffon cupcake and a babyccino.

we sat down at the little white table in the corner of the parlour, surrounded by huge tiered rose-petalled cakes, pastel lollies and treats too pretty to even consider eating, and miss A announced 'im waiting for my babyccino'. the waitress hurried over with it, miss A lifted the little cup with her tiny hand and with pinky finger extended, she sipped that babyccino like a proper lady, while i laughed in amazement. a lady at the counter watched in admiration and told me her baby was only 6 months so she'd have to wait a while before she could bring her out for babyccinos. within the space of that short sentence, miss A had managed to shove a fork into her mouth so hard that it pierced her tongue and blood was running down her face! her horrified wailing brought the attention of everyone in the shop and i felt like the most neglectful nanny!

yesterday was jerry's birthday. he was so disappointed at turning 30 that i was banned from saying happy birthday after the first couple of times... we went out for his complimentary birthday dinner at babylon, (virgin really look after their staff!).. we sipped cocktails at the bar while chatting to our old colleague rich, then sat in a cosy padded booth and enjoyed the most delicious meal: chevvre cheese, wild mushroom tart, roasted pheasant (for jerry) with a scrumptous red wine and a 'happy birthday' dessert platter... jerry's family had given him a helicopter flying lesson which he was totally stoked about. my gift is still to come but i'd written him a soppy card (as usual) quoting don juan de marco. i know its a bit corny but i still think its beautiful:

'There are only four questions of value in life;
What is sacred?
Of what is the spirit made?
What is worth living for?
What is worth dying for?
...The answer to each is the same - only love.'

i asked jerry if he's kept all the love letters, romantic valentines and sweet birthday cards that i've poured my heart into, spent hours composing, that are the embodiment of my immense love for him... 'aaah, i think some of them are in that tequila box in rasmus's basement...'
hmmm....

:o)

a week on set: miss mia meows

❉ oh how much fun it is to make films! i had the most amazing week! (although i worked so much i had no time for a life outside of)... since we were working underground from 8am to 8pm each day, i didnt see daylight all week and began feeling like such a vampire!...
we had our own little world down there in 'ginglik', a grungy basement bar that apparently used to be a public toilet back in the day... i'm sure those walls have seen some bizarre things over the years.. maybe nearly as bizarre as the miss mia meows film set!

tuesday: miss mia, after killing a man, flees to madame big mo's to plead for help from her transvestite friend poison, who's the in-house singer. the bar is full with the usual crowd.
we set up the bar (which looked very ratty to begin with) and transformed it into a colourful wonderland, with velvet and satin drapery, fairy lights, posters, golden frames, mismatched antique chairs and tables covered in silks and sarongs, fringed lamps and candelabras... it really did look amazing!
then we set up the rest of the dressing room, which was decorated like a retro boudoir. i got the job of creating the wall collage, which was to be an explosion of vogue fashion magazine pictures and gay porn... 

then the extras arrived! i was placed in the boudoir to take care of their costumes and there were some spectacular ensembles! margherita (the production designer) had her own fabulous collection (including her mum's handmade hat collection from the 1960's) and then they'd borrowed and hired a whole load of stuff as well. the extras were already a quirky bunch of people but we transformed them into transvestites, dominatrices, gypsies, goths, belly dancers, burlesque beauties, fortune tellers, pretty spanish gay boys, toy boys, fag hags..... every weird and wonderful creature you can imagine! one of the extras didn't show up so the director asked me if i'd fill the role....
'...of course i'd love to!! '

wednesday: i was dressed in a royal blue velvet dress with a real blue fox hanging over one shoulder, draped in pearls and passed on to the hair and makeup ladies who did an audrey hepburn slash amy winehouse beehive hairdo and vintage-glam makeup. my first scene was to waltz dramatically into the bar, stop with hand on hip, scan the room until i glimpse my two young toy boys, walk over to them and drape myself between them on the sofa, after which they'd feed me grapes and kiss my velvet arms.... i stood behind scenes, waiting for my queue to walk in. maurizio, the director winked at me 'shake that arse like you're brazilian, girl!'...

thursday: a russian fortune teller sits in one corner of the bar and miss mia goes to her for a tarot reading.

i asked them if they wanted me to arrange the cards so they actually meant what the fortune teller was saying in the script, just for credibility. all of a sudden, 20 people were asking me to read their cards. the director dragged me backstage... 'please can you read mine?!' 'ok, you and no-one else, so keep it a secret'. i laid out the cards on an old suitcase in the dark and whispered his fortune to him.

next was the party scene, set later on in the night when everyone was wasted. i had slept with the beehive in so as not to have to redo it the next day. all the extra's, including me, were taken into hair and makeup and roughed up, their lipstick smeared, their eyes made panda, my stay up stockings were loose and dangling, my dress hanging off one shoulder and the pearls a tangled mess... probably close to how i look in real life when i'm out partying :o)
we were dancing most of the scene, with fake cocktails in our hands, looking as drunk and disorderly as possible. i've probably had too much practise at that and found it very easy.

friday: so that the actress playing miss mia could go home and get some sleep (it seems everyone was running on a couple of hours per night), i was asked to be her hand double for the final scene. though i told then i had man-hands, she assured me hers were even worse since she was a seamstress. my nails were painted vixen, and thrown into the camera.

the rest of the day was spent packing up the whole set. all those hours of decorating were torn down within seconds. my masterpiece glam-porn collage was eradicated, and everything was loaded upstairs into a van. as we climbed those stairs and saw daylight after a whole week without, it felt like a true possibility that we could melt or vanish... i was so sad to say goodbye to everyone. after a week working on the project together we'd become so close. we'd all been wrapped up in our own little world together, all sleep deprived and stressed and exhausted, but also happy and inspired and buzzed. there'd been such a nice feeling on set the whole week because of the people. i was so glad i'd stumbled across the job... we exchanged contact details and promised to see each other at the film screening in march...

back to the real world! i finally have some time to spend with jerry, to do some washing, to gather my thoughts and get back on the yellow brick road....

:o)

miss mia meows day 1

❅ sleep deprived and confused, i found myself in the middle of shepherds bush common at 7.30am... according to my iphone's googlemap, the bar (and film set) was supposed to be located in the middle of the park (?).... low and behold, there was the entrance; a mysterious staircase leading underground, with my to-be film-crew colleagues waiting outside in the freezing cold.
'miss mia meows' is a short film made by third year LCC university film students for their graduation piece. what have i got to do with it? i'm a production design assistant...!

i was so excited to get cracking at film making, with some hands on experience... and to meet the characters behind this wacky film. the directors and producers are lovely and fun and very creatively inspired, from every corner of the globe... and the bar was a perfect setting..
we spent the morning loading in furniture and props, hanging curtains and picture frames, and moving round chairs.. then i volunteered myself for a calligraphic project which they were so impressed with that i was promised a wall collage project tomorrow... !

while painting away at my sign, i watched margarita, the gorgeous italian production designer, arranging the boudoir, where the first scene takes place. if only i could have a dressing room like that in my house! it was the coolest room ever; light framed vanity mirror scattered with venetian perfume atomisers, button up lace gloves and antique picture frames, hat stands covered in vintage ladies hats, old singer sewing machines, mannequins in 1950's brassieres, clothes racks full of beautiful dresses and tailored coats, a blue chesterfield couch and an altar wall covered in kitsch mother marys' and sparkly jesus statues surrounded by flowered fairy lights... ok, so i probably would give the alter a miss but the rest would be grand!

and more than a lovely boudoir, i want to be a production designer, ive now decided. what a fabulously fun and creative job! 
tomorrow we start filming!

:o)

breakfast at tiffany's

 


✬ i woke up even before the crack of dawn to get ready for my tiffany's job, in particular, to curl my hair. at 5.30 am, they were supposed to send a taxi to pick me up. i waited outside in the rain and gale-force wind and the hair turned instant medusa.
the taxi driver was the most incompetent taxi driver in the world. he either didnt understand the GPS's instructions, or just chose to ignore them. it took 15 minutes for him to do an entire block of kings cross to end up right back at my apartment. i realised i was going to be late for breakfast at tiffany's because of this wanker. i ripped out my iphone, connected to google map and began telling him which way to drive.
i was half an hour late.
we were working at a coffee stand, giving away free coffee, cupcakes and newspapers to celebrate the grand opening of the new tiffany's store in canary wharf. my supervisor was manic 'quickly, put on that white shirt, tie and tiffany's apron....and tie your hair back'. ah, why had i bothered at all with the hair?!

the queue for that free coffee stretched right down the length of the shopping mall, and stayed that way all day. some people queued for half an hour just for a free coffee. i mean i know everyone loves something for free, but it's not like we were giving away free diamonds.... and it's amazing that even when you're giving away free things, people will find something to complain about. one lady got pissed off because we didn't have fat free milk, then a man chucked a tantrum because we ran out of hot chocolate.
i was exhausted by one o'clock and happy to go home with my souvenir tiffany's apron and cupcake.

:o)

elephant and castle

♖ excited about my interview for the 'runner' position on the film set, I decided to wear something other than my standard uniform of black jeans, boots and leather jacket and instead put some effort into my outfit so as to look like someone creative and cool. i put on my white russian gypsy dress over pattern-ribbed tights, my turban beanie and topped it off with riding gloves and aviators. then i realised that it was freezing cold outside (despite it looking sunny from the window) so threw on the good old boots and leather jacket anyway...

on the way to the tube station the most embarrassing thing happened to me. i stopped at starbucks to use their toilet and apparently didn't lock the door properly because half way through my piss, a woman hauled the door wide open so that the whole cafe could see me with my gypsy dress lifted up, doing my germaphobe squat above the toilet seat! all i could say was a slow motion 'oh...my...god!' ...the woman was more embarrassed than me which made me feel better..

i was meeting the girl at London College of Communication near elephant and castle tube station. what a quirky name for a london suburb! before moving to london i saw it on a map and instantly said to jerry 'oh we have to live in 'elephant and castle'!'.. i was then told it was one of the dodgiest and dangerous places in london, so never set foot there until today. i got out of the tube, clutching my bag tightly, curious as to what inspired the city planners to give it such an offbeat name. outside the tube station, past the crumby hot food stands, sat a weathered old hotel with a small coloured statue of a circus elephant with a miniature castle on its back.... that's it!?! ...can't be...how lame.

the interview went really well and i got the job on the spot. the film sounds very wacky and interesting, as do the characters making it.. my job will be as assistant to the production designer, who's in charge of set design, costumes, props, etc...! i can't wait! it's gonna be one week of shooting, with very early starts, and no money... but a great experience and a big star on the CV..

:o)

the great indoors

 

❉ how to enjoy a freezing cold, grey, windy, drizzley day in london..?
1. be unemployed (or partially so) so that you don't have to go out in the elements...(don't listen to all that brainwashing...unemployment rocks)
2. position yourself in a nice and cosy place in your house where you have a view out your window of the dark and moody city scenery...(im lucky enough to have a semi-panoramic view from our 5th floor balcony window)
3. drink cups of hot peppermint tea with honey, continuously...(i wouldnt recommend doing it with coffee)
4. enjoy the wonderful world wide web, where you can be amused, entertained, shocked, enlightened, inspired.... i spent the day photo-blog browsing, downloading the period drama 'downton abbey', applying for fun-sounding jobs and replying to long lost emails from old friends...

luckily for me i have jerry to force me out of my pijamas and to the gym once in a while.. otherwise i'd be morbidly obese.
and on the job front i have lots of exciting possibilities... an interview for an assistant position on a film set for a very quirky looking film called 'miss mia meows', a hostessing job at a tiffany's event and a positive response from the house of grazia, saying they'll call me in for a casting/interview in january...!

last night we had a dinner party at our house with our friends nick and lucy.. i forgot how nice it is to do dinner parties!....a bottle or two of wine, good company and great conversation.. nick and lucy are house-hunting and we totally sold islington to them in the hope they'd become our neighbours and then we can do regular dinner parties....

:o)

autumn

❉ autumn is quite beautiful in london with all its parks full of trees losing their coloured leaves... sometimes its hard to notice the beauty though, when the drizzle is accompanied by wind so strong that you have to hold on to your umbrella with two hands and all your force just to stop the wind smashing it into your face.
i must make myself love and appreciate each season like the japanese do... they have festivals and rituals and wonderful haiku poetry dedicated to the unique beauty of summer, autumn, winter and spring. it was one of the things i marvelled at most when i lived in japan, how much they embraced each of the seasons.

in spring we had drunken picnics under cherry blossoms, ate cherry blossom rice cakes and admired the girls wearing cherry blossom kimonos. in the autumn i went to kyoto which is most beautiful then because of all the deciduous trees. my girlfriend and i went to the onsen, (the japanese bathhouse) where all the yakuza wives happened to be, naked in the hot pools with their tattoos and diamonds.
we saw real geisha down the cobbled back alleyways in the evening, walking in their clogs between tea-houses. at the sunday market we bought beautiful antique kimonos for $10 each.
no one whinges about the seasons in japan and i found myself enjoying them too! as much as i love summer, it probably would be boring having it all year round...

apparently this winter in london is going to be the coldest in a hundred years. they always say things like that though don't they...anyway it's time for a winter coat.
i went shopping on thursday with igne, a girlfriend from work and though both of us were dead-set on finding coats, we came back with shoes and dresses and everything but coats. we decided to stop by her boyfriend's work, 'number 5' in mayfair, for one drink before heading home. we ended up drinking a whole bottle of champagne each as well as a million shots and i was sent home in a taxi. jerry found me downstairs hanging out the taxi door vomiting into the street. my last memory of the evening was playing (and singing) 'heart & soul' on the pianoforte in the restaurant (i cant play the piano).... apparently the maitre de and staff were very amused with us.

here's some autumn haiku poetry by basho.... isn't it beautiful?

shaking the grave
my weeping voice
autumn wind


turn this way!
I too feel lonely
late in autumn


taken in my hand
it will vanish in hot tears
autumn frost

:o)

the house of grazia

photo for grazia magazine, miranda kerr 2009

❉ for some reason my iphone message-bank hasn't been working and all of a sudden yesterday it decided to tell me i had 6 messages waiting to be listened to, stretching from two weeks back! WTF!!! as i listened to each message my anxiety grew and grew..

message #1: a guy calling about a hostessing job i'd applied for on gumtree. luckily this was a fairly recent message and i could ring back directly without seeming like too much of a lazyarse.

message #2: an insurance company calling on behalf of that car i crashed into with my bike ages ago....DAMN IT!!! i'd been honest enough to leave my name and number on the windscreen after the crash, then when they called they were arseholes to me and i regretted having been so honest. i thought they'd forgotten about it but obviously not!

message #2: 'the house of grazia' (as in the fashion magazine)- calling regarding a lifestyle TV show that i'd applied to be in, where they choose four women who need a change in their lives, (eg. career/ relationship/ style makeover etc), they take them out to their country estate spa/retreat and with a team of stylists, career advisors etc, they help the women to make over their lives!  and they film the whole thing to make into a lifestyle TV show. they'd been interested in my application TWO WEEKS AGO!!!! ahhhhh!!! id put so much effort into that application because i wanted it so badly.....

couldn't help but feel like i'd been dealt a really shitty hand. i decided to get rid of my phone's message-bank, to not call the insurance company back and to just wait to see if they called me again (does that deserve bad karma?) ...and then to call the house of grazia three times to beg to be reconsidered for the show. apparently they haven't finished casting.... fingers crossed!!!

x

murder mystery

✥ last night was our staff 'murder mystery' party, hosted at the royal garden hotel. it was a 1930's theme and i'd already volunteered myself and jerry (against his will) to take part in the show as characters.

when i first met jerry he hated (and refused) to dress up in costumes but i think because of my good influence, he secretly now enjoys it. he even instigated a day of shopping at H&M for a hat, bow tie and sleeve garters for his costume...
he looked so handsome all dressed up! he must have fancied himself in that garb as well because on the tube on the way to the party he announced that he might start wearing this sort of thing on normal occasions!..

we studied our lines along the way... i was molly hatchet, an american gangster mole and jerry was albert fortescue, a spaniard, raised in the finest english schools to become a gentleman... we were both really nervous about it and decided to do a couple of stiff shots at the pub across the road before hitting the royal garden.

it was so much fun to see all our colleagues dressed up and in a social atmosphere! the dinner was a proper 3 course deal in the grand function room and the actors who hosted the show were brilliant! i was one of the last characters to do my performance and by that stage i'd had a few champagnes and was feeling loose enough to put on a texan drawl. i'd lost my voice but the huskiness sounded good into the microphone and ended being quite fitting to my character... the judges obviously liked it anyway because at the end of the night i was given the oscar and the best actors award! jerry ended up being the murderer, which he didnt even know himself...

after the dinner show we all got drunk at the bar and my memory gets a bit shotty after that. i do remember covering everybody in red lipstick kisses and collaborating with the gardener on a new idea for the roof garden: a venus-like shrub-carved statue (for which i would be the muse of course ;o) surrounded by fountains and flowering creepers...

jerry and i were both so monstrously hungover today that jerry had to wag school and we stayed in bed all day eating home delivery pizzas and watching movies...

:o)