Update

So lots of interviews etc but no job yet! Through to the last stage of one job though and so will know by the end of next week if I've got it or not. One job I went for sounded perfect and the interview went so well and I stupidly really thought I'd got it :(

Still loving working at the restaurant, it's been half-term (i.e. school holidays) so it's been really busy but fun too. When I'm not working have just been seeing my friends Kate, Sue, Mike etc same old same old. We eat. We drink.

Sue's friend from Manchester has been up for the last couple of days so we had a big night out last night, they came around to my house first for drinks in the bar ;) and then we headed into town. Yes lots of dancing :) Just tried to upload pics but didn't work ... will try again later. Done.

OMG! Why does everything happen at the same time?!

After how many weeks of not getting anywhere with the whole job thing?! I'm now inundated with interviews, appointments and I'm so, so confused!! I think I preferred being a lady of leisure. I'm quite stressed about a number of other things too so I've gone from drinking coffee in town yesterday with Kate and little Sophie to today when I feel what can only be described as manic!!!

Some English rain for you - don't know why - it just seemed appropriate ;)

Dinner Party Pictures

So we had a nice sophisticated dinner party planned which ended in lots of drunken stupor! Slightly stressful at the start as it was supposed to be a pot luck dinner but only two people brought food! So with everyone arriving I was running around like a mad woman trying to cook a few more things but had help as I bossed the boys around in the kitchen. Have to say I loved the drama!

I had such a great night, it was loads of fun and great to catch up with Karen and Beccy again. Just about finished the cleaning and am off to bed asap to catch up on all the sleep I didn't get last night.

'The boys' - Jonny, Mike and Mark
Mark and Vicky
Kate

My assistants
Vicky and Ali

Karen and Beccy - the j style photo had to be done!
Karen and me

Sue

Some pics

I've just been saving some pictures from Mum's camera onto the computer and as of this week we now have broadband -yay - so thought I'd upload a few of her photos :-

Yeah, yeah ... look at our English sub-urban house with our pretty garden and lace table cloth!

Vinny's last supper! Me pulling a typical Wallace face!

Scotland - why am I always leaping onto Vinny?

I'm still here! It's not been that long!

So life goes on as usual although I haven't had any crazy nights out for a couple of weeks - that's probably a good thing! At the weekend I went to Liverpool to visit Vinny with Mum and Dad - not much to report there, he seems to be having a fantastic time and we were just making him take time out from his hectic social life. Of all the great places to eat in Liverpool Vinny got his own way and we went for all you can eat chinese - disgusting, greasy, unappetising food.

My parents are away next week and so am feeling just like I'm a teenager again as I can't wait to have the house to myself. We're having a dinner party on Saturday which should be fun and of course very civilized ;) Will take some pictures then.

Still enjoying working at the restaurant, just wish I had more hours really. Will write more about the restaurant another day though... have some funny stories to tell.

I've been eating badly, I know all the good habits I picked up in Japan have gone. I eat slabs of dairy milk chocolate washed down with gallons of full fat milk and yet somehow I've managed to lose another 5 kg!!! I'm attributing this to; not drinking beer at home where as that's all I ever really drank in Japan, walking to and from town everyday (about 2- 3 miles each way) and running up and down the stairs at work, oh, about 1000 times a shift.

I've only been home 10 weeks or so and yet already Japan seems like a bit of a distant dream, I look at my pictures and it seems like it all happened to somebody else. Sometimes I get really upset, I told Lolly already how in WH Smiths I ended up nearly crying when I flicked through the Japan Lonely Planet. But again I couldn't believe I'd been to all those places in the pictures - it seemed really weird. So although I have thousands of pictures to look at I find myself wanting to remember daft things like; picking Aileen up from Matsusaka station, meeting Sam and Fiona in Tsu, riding my bike to my classes whilst swallowing a multitude of flies, driving down to Miyagawa to see Milena, calling by Nige's for a sleepover, the feeling when I left school on a Friday afternoon, walking around Tenkei Park in the mornings and the strange noise that came up from the water, those trucks that drive around with their annoying chants, walking to the kettle 100 times a day at school, max value, putting on toilet shoes, eating in Saizeria ... the list is endless but they're all things I'm scared I'll forget.

But don't worry I'm not forgetting my friends and I miss everyone a lot. Speaking of which I spoke to McFeat a couple of days ago, he's off travelling around Central and South American for five months soon. And what with all your exciting adventures Aileen I feel like I'm living a very dull life!!

A Quick Post

• Today I have a job interview. I feel like I'm going to vomit.

• This weekend Sue and me went to Edinburgh for Vicky's birthday party in her flash new flat.

• I went to see a comedian last night with my friends Mike, Mark etc which was really good apart from the place far too warm.

• Two interesting facts I read about this week :-

1. Customer service in Carlisle is the worst in the country.

OK shop assistants are very rude BUT that might be because that's the way we like it! Tto illustrate this; The Gap - with all it's 'have a nice day' 'let me know if I can help' 'I'm Shaz ...' etc etc is always EMPTY! Leave us alone! We want to be ignored by shop assistants and overhear their discussions about how much they hate their boss or who they pulled last night and how hungover they are.

2. Carlisle was 28th in a National list for the most alcohol consumed per person in England.

Erm yeah .... no comment

• Speaking of alcohol consumption - I lost my phone in a club last week so as a result spent all day on Friday on the phone to the insurance people, at the police station and at the phone shop. So it's sorted I have a new phone - my fourth hand set in the six weeks I've had it!

Vicky and me