Pancake Day FAIL.

These crazy people don't know what pancake day is. Only my second favourite holiday-that-you-don't-get-time-off-for after the one where we burn a pretend guy...

It was also my day off and I went SKIING. With MUCH greater success than last time. Much. However, this means the next time I will get to sleep in past 7 am is likely to be 26th February. Ten days! Aaaaarrrrghhhh!

On the plus side this is because of SKIIIIIIING and SWIIIIIIIING. Two things that look very similar when written like that. I will sleep when... ummm... I don't have skiing or swinging to do?

Due to both of these I did not get pancakes today. Booooooo. After skiing I didn't have much time before swing to make myself half respectable. 

On the plus side, I got a ROSE! From a male person! First time EVER. 

Let me give you a brief history of the flowers I've been given:

I've had a single stem pink thing (dunno what it was) from the (retired) female owner of the shop I used to work in. The (now retired) manageress of said shop gave me a huuuuge bunch to say good luck at uni and well done in your A-levels. A colleague, also of the same shop, gave me flowers for my 18th (I will be 23 in May) and for my last birthday Abbs gave me some lilies that she'd been given but found the pollen too much for her nose. Second hand flowers. Not that I was in a position to complain. I was also given a small flowering plant by my responsable in France. Which I managed to not kill (result). My responsable was a sweet French lady a couple of years off retirement. 

Back to the rose. It was for my helping with the swing classes. Which is kinda ridiculous because if I didn't then I wouldn't get to dance. But also pretty awesome. P.S. It's yellow and goes really well with my room.

In these shoes?

It feels like something that may have happened some months ago but it was only yesterday that I met my Mum and sister and went to the Clothes Show Live.

Talking to Mum today we worked out that so far in 2008 I've seen my parents for less than 3 weeks. That's less than a short uni holiday. We predict that this trend is likely to continue as I grow up more.

With any luck I'll be running off to Quebec some time in August (2009) until sometime in June (2010) - best part of ten months.

Anyway, yes, the Clothes Show was on tv when I was little and I loved it. Mum always wanted to take me and my sister and has been waiting for us to be old enough.

I feel that I was pretty cunning about the shopping element of it: I got two items that I'd seen in town but couldn't justify at that price and managed to get them for considerably less. I got a pair of shoes that fitted a description I had in my head but didn't know existed for less than expected. Also they are Irregular Choice - a brand I've lusted over for some time. I got a handmade prototype one-of-a-kind top that just happened to be my size and my colour (has a bit of Westwood feel about it).

We saw the main show (from afar) introduced by Dave Berry and Alex Pettyfer, featuring the Saturdays (wearing two-tone tights). The models were accompanied by dancers including a bit to a big band version of Wonderwall - it totally worked.

There was another, smaller, show pretty much just with models but you could get a lot closer which was good as the clothes were the main event there. It featured Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Gareth Pugh, Giles Deacon and some I've forgotten.

I walked home from the station. It was a really good end to the day - a woman outside Vodka Revolution wearing black with gold hotpants and a gold headband was firespinning - I didn't see a hat for collecting money but didn't get close enough to check. When I got to the Co-op I nipped in for Camomile tea thinking that I wanted it enough to pay 79p for 20 bags and then the label said £1.19! Fortunately when the girl bleeped it it said 79p and then we discussed the 50 pence piece I gave her. It had a soldier carrying another - I already had one like it in my small connection of coins with interesting pictures on.

Pretty darned excited at the prospect of wearing my new shoes tomorrow and SWING DANCE! It has been like nine days since I last did it. I'm gasping for a dance. Err?

Also feeling somewhat more smug about Christmas now that I've spent some money on other people (even if it hasn't been dispatched yet). At least I know what I'm doing. Well, not entirely. Don't know about housemates at all. Previously we did Secret Santa but it is different this year as there are very old and very new friendships within the house - don't know half of them at all well enough. I'll make cards. Soon. Yes.

www.cbcradio.ca/radio2 - Drive with Rich Terfry. Yes. It is keeping me up because I don't want to miss any but I know I need to sleep. Poetry on the radio.

Talking of radio, listened to Peach's show today. Started off very well but did go a bit downhill when they started sorting out their social life. Hello, audience *waves*!

Ten days left to get sorted before I go home for Christmas. It doesn't feel like long but I like the pressure.