Thursday, April 9, 2009

I MUST NOT THINK BAD THOUGHTS

Hi. Trying something new.

7:30AM: Why? I roll around and open my eyes despite the question. Just to make sure I remembered it, I say out loud the new Tagalog phrase Panda taught me last night when we made up spectacularly. 'Gusto ko lagi ka masaya' = 'I want you to always be happy'. Great, I do remember. I'll get up at 7:30 no problem now.

8:25AM: Start making Wednesday moves. Boil water while I shower so that when I get out I can grab a cup of tea and take it to my room. I decide to be cheery today and wear my yellow wedge heels (who would've guessed I owned those? - I'm surprised myself when I dig them out from behind God's back). These are going to make my day special, I decide.

9:15AM: Catch the first bus out. My yoga teacher (whom I have an awkward relationship with) is standing behind me waiting to board the bus. He wears glasses on his days off, I note. It's becoming. He pretends he doesn't recognize me so I do the same, because my wedge heels are making me awesome and indifferent today.

9:35AM: Catch two trains to Liverpool Street station. The train operator on the District Line leg of the journey to Edgware Road is happy about something. He greets us cheerily on the PA, reminding us not to forget any belongings, to have a Happy Easter and to take it relatively easy on the chocolate. He says, 'Don't forget to get off the train. Or else you'll be stuck with me, all the way back to Wimbly-don.' He explains that he gave up alcohol for Lent. Everyone is smiling as they get off, including me.

10:20AM: Arrive at L. Street 30 minutes too early so pop into WHSmith and hound the magazine racks. As it seems I already have most of the latest, I struggle to choose between Surface and the latest Harper's (two completely separate reads that I don't even follow - but research has 'search' in it for a reason?). I choose US Elle. I order a tall Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks outside, and sit in the sun marking up the copy. There's a piece on this african artist called Wangechi Mutu, whom I decide I love (her new stuff, at least)

[courtesy The Saatchi Gallery]

11AM: Office. For some reason, everyone's checking in on me and being super friendly. The editor loves my shoes. There are a lot of stairs here though, and a lot of stacks on those shoes. A young muslim girl working upstairs as a case worker, chats with me for a while and we get off to a good start. She says if I need anything to let her know. The front desk woman comes in later on and gives me her extension number in case I need anything as well. I've been interning here for a month now. I do a couple hours proofreading some material due for print soon for the next issue. Some of it is my own work; a couple of book reviews. Rad.

2PM: Get so caught up in proofreading that I miss lunch at 1, and my editor shoos me away. I head to Noodle King for a plate of vegetable fried noodles. I love tofu. I love mushrooms. I take half home for dinner later. They're ridiculous.

4PM: Leave office, but my wedges tell me to get some ice cream before I go home. I buy a scoop of coffee and a scoop of tiramisu from the place next door. It tastes like a scoop of vanilla and a scoop of vanilla with chunky chocolat-y things in it. I begin to think I should've waited until I got to South Kensington and picked up some gelato from Oddono's, because nothing beats it. Lots of commuting ensues.

5:30PM: Get home. Collect my delivered Amazon copy of The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith from the front desk. Respond to emails, make lists, Facebook, start reading, catch Panda online and tell him good morning. We talk for a bit. He gets me jealous as he's meeting T-Mac for cheap sushi in L.A. today. I begin to taste rice in my mouth and consider heading to Hare and Tortoise for dinner.

8:30PM: Get lazy and pass out.

4:00AM: Up again. Eating the rest of the noodles and listening to X radio on Last.fm. Also lazily browsing WAH magazine's old blog (cool projects coming up soon...) and I'm So Sure. Panda and I have a Skype date in a bit as he's going away on a special thingie for two weeks and I won't be able to reach him. Found this on the old Wah blog and loved it:



That book Adulterers Anonymous sounds good as it's a collabo with Exene from X. I take it as a sign that I'm watching this and listening to X radio so I head over to Amazon to consider ordering a copy.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you haven't already read it, the next book on your Amazon order list should be The Story Of The Eye, by Georges Bataille. Quoth wikipedia:

"Story of the Eye (French: Histoire de l'oeil) is a novella written by Georges Bataille and published in 1928 that details the increasingly bizarre sexual perversions of a pair of teenage lovers. It is narrated by the young man looking back on his exploits.
It takes its title from an eye which the narrator extracts from the socket of one of his victims, and which is then used as a sexual fetish."

If you like bondage, I'm sure sex scenes which make copious use of urine and hard-boiled eggs in unusual places won't be too much of a leap.

Kara said...

oh my gaw... U SHUD'VE TOLD ME LIKE 4 HOURS AGO! I did an amazon run and bought a couple things including the adulterers anonymous book; and now i've met my budget. WOMAN! WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH YOU?