Went on a trip recently.  Visited my friend in Oxford.  It was lovely to catch up with her, and I enjoyed meeting her flatmate, her parents, one of her colleagues, some of her friends from church.  It was really good to see that she’s settling in well and is surrounded by good people.  And it was a relaxing chilled out time.

One of the highlights was going to a restarant called the “Big Bang” which specialises in sausages.  The night we went there was also a jazz singer.  Nice.

I flew back to Glasgow, arriving late on Sunday night, feeling a bit sad that after all that people-y stuff I was landing alone and had no one to pick me up at the airport.  But then I met a friend on the plane!  And she lives just near me, so we got a taxi back together.  Its these little things that are really worth noticing.

My friend took me rock-climbing the other day.  Outdoors.  I’d had visions of hiking for hours in the pouring rain and then climbing a gruelling and terrifying multi-pitch route.

But in fact – contrary to the weather forecast – it didn’t rain.  Neilston quarry turned out to be the perfect height for scaredy-cats and there was no need for any multi-pitch stuff.    I had two moments where I was picturing my own death but I think that was more due to an overactive imagination than any actual danger.

And then, just when it was getting to the point where I was thinking it would be nice if quarries came equipped with coffee-shops, the guys next to us asked if we wanted a cup of tea!  Tea?  Out in a quarry?  Oh yes.  They had a little stove.  It was good, it was fast.  And they gave us sweet black tea and a slice of madeira cake.

Nice.

I went to the cinema the other day. (Good thing#1: an informal cinema club appears to have formed.)

Went to see “Priceless” (a French film, original title: “Hors de Prix”).

I love French films, mostly because they’re SO different to the formulaic American films we’re so used to. This one was very French, with a touch of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” about it.

Anyway it was full of fun, symmetry and beautiful people. And because they’re beautiful and funny, they can get away with outrageous behaviour. And its always nice to hear French spoken. And I learned that if you want to seduce a rich man, you just have to say “je voudrais…” and then tail off without finishing your sentence as if its too painful to continue. Not convinced by this approach, but may give it a try and see what happens. Oh and another nice moment was when the guy was trying to win back the girl’s affections. He’d taken her out for a very expensive dinner and then out for drinks, and then asked her if she wanted anything else,

“ice cream?”

Her answer, “I want a dress”.

Classic.

Anyway the thing that amused me was when I bought my ticket. For some reason the ticket machine stopped working. The man look flustered, pushed a few buttons, and eventually got the ticket to print. And this was the result:

The film: Priceless
The price: Priceless.
Now isn’t that priceless?!?

Last time I was climbing was in January. I didn’t think I was missing anything by not going, because I’ve had lots of other exciting things to do instead. But yesterday I went for a climb because a couple of friends (R and Ninja1) wanted to go.

Good thing about yesterday’s climb:
- all the serious climbers were climbing outdoors, and all the students were away, so there was lots of space
- Ninja1 picked up the basics quicker than anyone I’ve ever seen, and LOVED it. Nice to see a new convert being so enthusiastic about something you love.
- I got to climb again! And I can still do it! And it still makes me feel good!
- I now have two new belay slaves (oops I mean climbing partners) which means more opportunities for climbing throughout the summer

One of the world’s best natural highs is that feeling you get which is a combination of adrenalin, physical exercise, and the happy feeling of having faced a challenge and overcome it. Oh and being with people who are fun to be with, that is the icing on the adrenalin-cake.

Yippee! Its good to be alive!

I went to a capoeira class. Its a martial art which has intrigued me for years. I’m not sure if I’ll have enough time to dedicate to getting really good at it, but it was fascinating to get an insight. Things I liked about it:

- its a martial art

- its about music

- its about community

- the words are Portugese and Portugese is cool

- fighting isn’t aggressive; its a game

- it has an acrobatic element (new opportunities to be upside-down!)

Today I had a good day at work. If I was writing my CV (resumé) I’d say I’d been doing the following:

- liaising with staff at all levels

- problem solving

- working independently and as part of a team

- fostering good customer relationships

- using excellent verbal and written communication skills

But still, work is work and is kind of dull really. As a nice contrast I met up with a friend who had also just finished a productive but office-bound day, and we went for coffee (well, actually a Tchai latte with some delicious banana and toffee cake) and that’s when life got more colourful.

We discussed:

- aerial routines on trapeze and rope (working alone and as part of a team!)

- James Bond theme tunes versus Mission Impossible

- Bond girl outfits that can be worn while upside down

- Ninja costumes

And we’re not just all talk… within a couple of months, if all goes according to plan, we WILL be upside down in Ninja outfits, or maybe a black and gold number. Safe to say it will be fun, it will be different and it will be a hundred miles away from gazing out of the window while swizzling on a swizzle* chair or discussing what level of change to a system may or may not require change control.

*OK I’ve just realised what’s wrong with that sentence. Its a swivel chair, isn’t it? But I like the idea of swizzling better than swivelling so I think I’ll just leave it like that. Just because I can.

The absolutely best thing about my snow holiday was the people. I’d taken a bit of a risk – it was people I’d known for a year but only in the context of the aerial classes we go to at the weekend. AND all four of us were sharing one room, which means that if there any frustrations or irritations there would be no-where to go to escape.

But these people are AMAZING. Lovely to a new height of loveliness.

Things I like about them:

- they’re fun

- they’re thoughtful

- they all enjoy snowboarding

- they all understand the importance of being upside-down every now and again

- they’re into photography and have patience for people who instead of just drinking their cocktails, have to stop first and photograph their cocktails. So yes, now they have photos of me photographing cocktails. And I have photographs of them photographing each other photographing a pint of beer. Ah the symmetry, its beautiful.
- they’re friendly to everyone they meet

- they have a great sense of humour (my favourite image of them is a photo taken at the airport, 2 of them lying on the floor playing dead in front of a huge bear)

- ability to be light-hearted combined with ability to talk about deeper stuff

- non-judgemental and accepting

- willing to take risks and try new things

Pancakes are a Good Thing.  Today’s pancakes came in several varieties:

• savoury: served with mince and grated cheese

• sweet: served with bacon and maple syrup and subdivided into:
  • normal
  • wheat and lactose-free
  • with blueberries
  • with chocolate

Verdict: delicious.

Its nice to go out mid-week and hang out with friends, and was nice that it was a slightly different mix than my usual suspects.  And food cooked my someone other than me is ALWAYS well appreciated.

Yum.

On Sunday afternoon I suddenly took it into my head that I really wanted some Battenberg cake. So I popped out to the supermarket to get some. But alas there was none!

Then, because I was really tired, I went to bed for half an hour. And as I was dozing off, I prayed for Battenberg cake, hoping that my visitors would bring some. The chances of them bringing cake or biscuits were quite high, but the chances of it being exactly what I wanted were slim; they’re somehow not really Battenberg types… And frankly, praying for cake just seems weird.

And so, it came to pass, my visitors did not bring Battenberg cake.  We had a good time together and I didn’t think much more about ill-fated cake.

On Monday I spent the day in an alternate universe.  An exciting and colourful universe but not the sort of place where I’d want to spend more than a day or two.  (It involved hairspray, make-up, trapezes, glitter, celebrites and lots and lots and lots of waiting.)

Then on Tuesday it was back to the realities of office life. What I hadn’t realised is that it was my team leader’s birthday, and he’d brought in 3 different sorts of cakes including – you’ve guessed it! – Battenberg cake!

So my prayer was answered! There was something else I also prayed for on Sunday, I’m now slightly more hopeful about that one being answered too, even though its a much bigger request than Battenberg cake and involves something not generally available in supermarkets…

In the spirit of continuing to take risks and try new things, I tried out an ice axe and crampons this weekend. I’ve always been wary of both items, first because they’re just an extra thing to carry and second, because if the mountain is really that dangerous then my inner parent generally doesn’t think I should be allowed out on it.

However, I had the chance to go for a hillwalk with a good friend and an experienced mountain leader and this chance coincided with the opportunity to borrow an ice axe and crampons.

We had a great day out, and stopped to play with the ice axe in a suitable icy patch which had soft snow and heather at the bottom of it. Lots of fun, and it did convince me that an ice axe could have uses other than accidentally impaling its owner.

And as for the crampons, well they are just an extra thing to carry and extra weight on your feet while you’re wearing them, but they gave me a magical superhuman ability to walk on ice without slipping. Apparently you can even walk UP sheer walls of ice, but that’s an adventure for another day.