Lisa does Karaoke...Okawari, Soho

I promised to never do Karaoke...but when the whole room of people is doing it, screaming at the top of their voices to random songs like New York New York, Whiter Shade of Pale, Billie Jean, Wannabe, Dancing Queen, Hey Jude....etc what choice do you have.

Thank goodness there were no talent scouts there, they would have been very disapointed. Uk Idol here we come, NOT!

Lisa and Danni...
Danni singing..
Lisa and Sophie
Lisa and Danni
All the girls do the Spice Girls or Dancing Queen, i cannot remember which... :-)

Indian Summer....oh joy!

Yippee the weather this month has been too superb, its due to be warm and a massive 20 degrees on Sat and Sun with sunshine and everything. The whole of September has been like this and its improved my outlook on life quite a great deal, ah *sigh* now I am happy for Autumn and Winter to roll on after this, as at last we get some summer time.

I was too excited, back up to Hampstead Heath on Sunday I shall go.. have a great weekend all....

France World Cup 2007 - Australia vs Wales, in Cariff, Wales....

GrantRail - working the lines...

One weekend i had to go out on site to look at how the Site Access controller managed the men all coming onto the railway site. This was one of my big projects at work, putting together a case for having electronic site access, rather than big written sheets of paper, listing all the mens details, competencies etc.

So I headed up past Milton Keynes, one Friday (yes Friday) evening for a bright an early start working with the Site Access Controller, the shifts start nice an early at about 6:30am for a whole weekend. Fortunately I only had to stay till about lunch time, I had discovered all I needed to know by then, and my IT guru was happy with his findings too.

It was a bit of a novelty and Meredith and I went down as close to the track as we were allowed, to watch the ballast (rocks around the tracks) trains and the tamper trains come and do their bit...very interesting..

Site Access Truck at 6am
The road into the site
And again...
The Track from a distance...we got lots closer than this...just think Stand by Me close....
And we were in the middle of the country side on a glorious summers day!!

My new hair...I have a fringe and I love it

More Hampstead Flat pictures...

The actual building..it has about 20 odd flats in it...so there is totally no storage space, but the entry is massive with a big stair case and the have just put marble on the front steps (someone is going to break there neck come first round of black ice!!)
The gorgeous back garden, which no one is allowed on yet...
and the street, facing up towards Hampstead

Why I hate....grrrr.... the Northern Line!!!

Ok the brilliant thing about living in my new flat is the fact that I live right by both the Jubilee (lets call this the Jubbly line from now on) and the Northern line, Hampstead station. This was great working at London Bridge as I could jump on at Swiss Cottage and be at London Bridge in about 25 minutes...ok cool.

The new offices are at Moorgate as per the previous post, which means I have to hike up the hill - for London, yes this is considered quite a hill - to get to the Northern Line. This isn't really a drama as I can be lazy, which I most certainly will be come mid winter and catch a bus up there. Then is about 35 min down to Moorgate...and depending on my timing - which is usually not so good, I am standing the whole time...

Its quite cute in the morning walking up my street, because school is on at the moment and there about about 3 nursery schools and 3 normal schools on the street. So there are lots of yummy mummies or nanny's ferrying little tots, these children must be less than 5 as they are so tiny, to school wearing the most adorable little uniforms. Now I am talking little red and white cheque uniforms with boater hats, and little boys in impeccable mini blazers wearing little bumble bee hats (you know the ones with the circles on top with the different colours...too cute!!).

Anyway...the Northern line splits in 2 and joins at Camden, then Euston and splits again, before finally joining and then separating at Kennington (South of the river). I am in Hampstead so on the Edgeware branch of the line. So in the morning I need the line that goes via Bank to get me to Moorgate. The other line goes via Charing Cross (or Trafalgar Square for ease of location). Just to explain things.

Anyway, if you are not paying attention you can be totally in the wrong place very quickly. On Tuesday morning, work had their announcement so i wanted to be in early to hear it. I got to the station and while waiting down on the platform I missed seeing the front of the train to know what branch it was. However, given that the display board was only showing trains via Charing Cross, I assumed (makes an arse out of you and me both...clearly) that it was a Charing Cross train.

Rather than waste time waiting, I jumped on it all primed to just change platforms and trains at Camden Town. I do this and then i am on the train and it's telling me the next stop is Tottenham Court Road...bugger, I was on the Bank branch and changed to the wrong one at Camden Town, then had to catch a central line to Liverpool street, thus adding 20 minutes to my journey. I was supremely annoyed and vowed I would be more careful next time.

But tonight I did it again....urghhh. I jumped on a train from Moorgate just assuming again (since the train was on the platform already - no time to read boards or anything) that it was a Bank Branch, Edgeware train. Or rather I forgot I needed to get the Edgeware not the High Barnet train, and that both come past there. So I am sitting on the train feeling impressed that I got a seat after a few stops - and I already felt good because that morning I gave up my seat to a pregnant lady (like the guys were going to get up), when the announcement is that the next stop is Highgate...hummmm.

Highgate, Hampstead....well both north, both lovely...but bloody very different in terms of East and Westerly locations. Oh bugger I had done it again. This was much more painful this time in that I had to duck across all the people heading to the exit at Highgate, to the other platform, looking like a complete wally, to go all the way back to Camden, change trains YET AGAIN and go up the right line to Hampstead. I would have just gotten out and jumped on a bus, but for the fact that it would have cost me more money as Highgate is in Zone 3 and my Travel card is for Zone 1 and 2. Sigh..

Oh and I also hate that line because, my nose is seriously having the blackest .... yes boggies are black...yuck. It's the hip line to catch though, it is quite a different crowd of people on that line, its amazing how different really.... Lots of smug marrieds on the Jubbly line, while lots of younger more edgier people on the Northern line...it is known as dating line!!

The good and the bad....and yes I have moved again!

Just this week...well over the weekend my work got a new office and I now work near Moorgate and Liverpool Street at Finsbury Square, the city...the square mile...the heart of London... If you thought I was stoked about working at London Bridge, well let me tell you am peeing my pants with joy (gee I hope Dyane reads this) at finally working in the proper bona fide CITY!!!

The exciting benefits of this are-
+ My post code now has 7 digits, full proof that i am in the CITY
+ millions of places for lunch, including sushi, and not just one sushi place but TWO
+ an awesome barrista at Pret (Pret a manger)...finally a decent cheap coffee every day
+ I have a park across the road, and this has been lovely for lunch especially since London is currently experiencing summer..
+ I have a spot with a window overlooking said park
+ the shopping is better, especially over at Liverpool Street way
+ lots of cool bars and pubs
+ and, most importantly there is a fantastic place that does Aussie style meat pies just down the road a bit...

Now the pie place, I haven't actually made it to yet. I tried today, but I am impatient and didn't apparently walk far enough towards Angel to actually find it. So tomorrow I will try again.

Anyway the reason this place is going to be amazing is because, its founded by and Australian. Not just any Australian either, a South Australian. And lets face it we ROCK! This person being a South Australian will be familiar with the joys of the basics Gibbs, Balfours, Villis, but more importantly will know about the St Peters Bakehouse, and thus know, absolutely how to make a pie - properly.

My question when I find this place will be "when will you be importing Farmers Union Iced Coffee to go with them...??" These days they import stuff left, right and centre, so really why not? However, I am not counting on them saying yes and to be fair its not really in keeping with my environmental ethics, and reducing the carbon footprint of the products I purchase. After all when I realised Buxton spring water came from North England, in the Peaks district...I promptly gave up Evian (which I love) which has to come all the way from France. Anyway completely off the topic now...as usual.

The downside, my company lost a major contract on the second day in our new location, so thus my services are no longer required, and I finish up there on 28th September. I am not worried, I have been thinking about leaving there for quite sometime, but you know how things are, you get caught up in everything else and you end up staying. Plus I didn't want to disapoint my boss either.

Nevermind, i am looking for a job in around the same areas doing the same sort of work, and looking for a younger, bubbly, happier work environment too. Don't get me wrong some of the people I work with are great, but its the kind of industry, thats a bit slow, unchanging (very against change rather) and full of boring engineers and quantitiy surveyors...who aren't very exciting people sometimes.

Anyway - out with the old and in with the new....a fresh approach to change..seriously at the moment "change" should be my middle name!!