Fanny

This post is especially for my sisters and my mom who contributed to buy me the wool for this sweater as a Christmas present and just completed by me. I love it! I am wearing it right now and if I wasn't home alone I would have posted a picture of me wearing it. Instead you will have to make due with these photos posted here. I won't bore you with the knitting details but the sweater is sadly not without mistakes, all mistakes hopefully only noticeable to other knitters! However, it is only my second attempt at making a jumper and I am very very pleased with the results. Thanks ladies for a wonderful gift that will keep me warm and cozy for many years to come!

The Beach

I just finished reading The Beach by Alex Garland. As you may recall there was a movie made out of this book starring Leonardo DiCaprio-therefore the main character in my head while reading this book looked like him. Not such a bad thing. I both liked and disliked this book. The book takes place on an obscure island in Thailand, uninhabited except for the lucky travelers who have been brought to the island by those who already live there and the drug lords who manage the large pot field on the other side. The book is a narrative of one traveler who found the beach because of a map given to him by one of the island's deserters, and his experience of living on it. It is a little too remenisant of Lord of the Flies. It manages to stay different enough so that you don't feel like you are reading a more modern version of the tale, but in my belief the pretense is the same. I liked this book because it was a very quick and satisfying read. You are drawn into the characters and this magical place where they live and at night I would have dreams about being on a warm beach on Thailand with nothing to do. It is well written and manages to create atmosphere. What I didn't like was life on this beach is pretty unrealistic and a little too easy going. The end was crap and left me completely unsatisfied and a little grossed out. Parts leading up to the end were well done and you could see what the author was trying to do but then he ruins it with the finale. In my opinion at least. I recommend this book for traveling. It is fast and easy to read and written well enough so you don't feel like you are reading a total piece of crap book but not so good that you have to pay too close attention (although you should still pay some attention).

Anne of Green Gables

Having a lot of time on my hands I find myself watching a lot of DVDs while working on my numerous knitting projects. The other day I watched the old Anne of Green Gables mini series and oh my god it was so good! I wasn't sure I was going to like it but I found it very very enjoyable! I of course read the book as a young girl but I don't remember too much about it-just that it was about a red headed girl and there was a boy involved somehow. What a pleasant trip down memory lane. And it was funny. It made me laugh out loud. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it. I kind of want to watch it again.

In my free time I also went to the National Gallery yesterday. I visited all the Impressionists and then dropped in on my favorite painting and read my book for a while. They had by coincidence put these big comfty chairs right in front of it so I thought it would be rude not to take a load off and enjoy. Very pleasant. The only problem is they have lots of school children coming through and large groups of kids are not my thing.

I am trying to get temp work while I wait for my new job to start. Every morning you are suppose to call to let them know you are free and I swear, every morning they say, oh, we have been calling EVERYONE trying to fill this post and we just found someone! Maybe next time. Ummmm, you didn't call me! So annoying. Grrrrr

Atonement, Again

I have already read Atonement by Ian McEwen but since seeing the film I thought I would read it again. Plus, I really shouldn't be buying new books until I start my job. (I got a job!) Reading it the second time around it isn't as fast of a read , but I think I am getting more out of it this time. I remember from the first time being impressed how he makes you think about how words effect us, and I am getting that sense again. It is really well done. Knowing the end makes the whole book even more tragic. I am dreading encountering certain sections of the book that I haven't gotten to yet but know are coming. Most people don't read books twice but this is a good one to read again. And if you haven't read it at all, you should!

About my new job! I will be working at a large investment firm in London in their library doing research for stressed out bankers who will probably yell at me. I am really excited! I am mostly excited to have a job but I feel very blessed that I got this one in particular. It will be challenging but good for me. And they have a gym in the building which is a perk and it is in Canary Wharf which although far, is another perk. I am so stupidly happy right now I feel a little undeserving!

In other news I have also decided to do the Berlin marathon. I have been thinking about it for a while and now that the weather is getting warmer and it isn't get dark so early, I remember the joys of running at dusk-my favorite time to run. I am actually kind of excited to start training! The marathon is end of September which would be a great time to come visit yours truely. Doesn't anyone want to come visit me, besides my parents?

An Exhibition and Cabaret

A couple of weeks ago arts.co.uk, an art website Martin works on, had its first exhibition on Portobello Road. The work was photography by Jon Stark and although I wasn't so sure about the work initially I really liked it hanging on the wall. This weekend they had a stall at the Royal Academy of Art as well, showing Jon's work and a couple of other photographers. Take a look at the website, there is some good stuff there. I was never one for art really-I get bored at museums and half the time I don't know understand what it is I am looking at. But being exposed to all this art I am learning there are things I like and things I don't and art is a worth wild investment. There wasn't too much I liked at the Royal Academy but there was one stall that had some modern work I was attracted to. Sadly, being bad with names, I can't remember the artist's name. Damn.

Saturday we went and saw Cabaret which I really enjoyed despite the man with the very annoying fake American accent who played the lead and the MC who was disappointing. The woman who played Sally Bowles was very good and the set was very good as well. The dancing was not what I had hoped it would be-I am so use to the movie and have all the Fosse numbers-but it was still entertaining and well done. It was a lot different than I thought it would be but I love going to the theater that even if I were to see a really bad production I would still be the happiest girl in the place.

By the way, that is not Martin in the picture. I laugh though at those of you who may have thought it was! Hee hee.

No Country for Old Men

Just finished this yesterday and really enjoyed it. Very different than McCarthy's other books I have read but I am still amazed how he enables the reader to clearly visualize what he is writing. A bit violent which makes me hesitant to see the movie but I am curious none the less. The Road is still my favorite but this is well worth the read. Now I am bored. I always get a bit sad when I finish a book-especially a good one-cause I am never sure the next one I pick up will keep me as engaged. It also makes my tube journeys a lot less interesting.