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This is, without a doubt, the coldest winter that I have ever lived. It’s been freezing cold since mid December, and when I thought it might start to get better, it has just started snowing again.
Frosty windscreen of my car!
I remember when I lived in Motril, there were some days when I thought it was freezing; and because we didn’t have any central heating at home, it was very hard for me to get out of the shower and get dressed in the mornings. So, I am a bit ashamed to admit that, in a few very cold mornings, I would skip the shower, not even take my PJs off, get dressed on top of the PJs and go to school just like that (Well, I only did it like 2 or 3 times…)
Then, when I was a bit older and I was at Uni in Granada, it was even colder. But we did have central heating, so the “nude patches” were more bearable. Still, I must say that I missed several days of lessons and lectures because it was raining outside and I hated getting wet (I still do, but now I’m a responsible adult and can’t miss work because of the rain… 
)
Third stage of this “winter-coping-process” came when I moved to Portsmouth. I had been living in Granada for 4 years, so my body got used to the cold there, but what I wasn’t expecting in Pompey was the wind. Portsmouth is one of the windiest cities I’ve ever been to. I remember going to do my shopping at Asda and coming back home carrying all the bags, and sometimes I had to stop because I just couldn’t breathe. The wind was SO cold that it felt unbreathable. I bought the cosiest of coats (that I still own, but only really wear it in -0 situations) and it was my salvation. I managed to get through Portsmouth’s windy winter just okay.
And last but not least, this winter 2009-2010 is being the coldest since I moved to Britain. The first year I really had a bad time with the cold. My body had aclimatised back again to Motril temperatures (that never again were as cold as those winters in my childhood) and I really felt the change. But little by little I got used to it. I went from wearing 3 layers below the coat, to only wearing two. Now, sometimes, I only wear one underneath the coat!
Just two or three days ago I was thinking “Yep, spring is coming; it feels a tad warmer already”, but looking out of my window and seeing all the snow falling makes me realise that we still have a couple more of months until it’s actually spring!
Patience…
It seems to be a common theme in the blog-world to have a “Musical Friday”. I am not sure if I’ve already done it in the past or not, so here is my little contribution of my own special Friday tune.
MANIC STREET PREACHERS – Motorcycle Emptiness on MUZU
I remember the very first time I heard this song. I must have been 14 or so, and I was in the spare room at my mum’s house (the spare room, aka the play room or the ironing room). There was a telly and a sofa there, but i remember very clearly that I was doing some ironing and listening to the radio. And that song started playing, with its magical riff and senseless lyrics (not that I understood any at the time) and I had to stop ironing and listen. It captivated me.
I didn’t hear it again for a couple of years, and when I heard it again my heart almost stopped beating. It was like remembering an old, loving memory.
Now, everytime I hear it, my heart still skips a beat. That riff in the intro has got to be one of the most compelling intros in the history of music.
Enjoy it.
Everytime I start reading a new book, I sign it and write the date on the first page after the cover (you know, the blank one that all books seem to have just for the sake of it). It’s something I’ve been doing for years and I don’t think I’ll stop doing any time soon.
The thing is, it is a reminder of how long I have been reading a book. It turns out that I’ve been trying to read Iris Murdoch’s The Philosopher’s Pupil for 5 months now. It is a long time, I know. The problem is that it has taken me a long time to get into the story. Once a huge fan of Iris Murdoch, I have really struggled to get past the first 200 odd pages or so. Too much information. Too many characters. Too deep and philosophical. Now that I’m on page 231 I am starting to enjoy it. All the characters have been introduced. The plot is set (-ish). Now I actually enjoy reading it and I know it won’t take me too long to finish it.
A downside of taking so long with just one book is that I still keep buying/getting books to read regularly, so now I’ve got quite a list “pending”!
So here it is, in no particular order:
1) Dave Pelzer’s trilogy: A child called ‘it’, The lost boy and A man named Dave. Our friend Pat recommended these and she lent them to me last summer when we went to visit her. Apparently, they are very hard books about this kid who gets abused by his alcoholic mother. I suppose I’ll have to read a comedy book first before attempting to start with this ones. Otherwise I fear it’ll affect my mental health!
2) I play the drums in a band called okay by Toby Litt. No idea where I got the inspiration for this one. Maybe I read a review, maybe someone recommended it, maybe I liked the cover. Somehow now I’ve got a feeling that it’s the type of book that I would have loved in my emo times. Not sure if I’ll enjoy it that much now.
3) Lord of the flies by William Golding. Okay, this one is a bit embarrasing, as I should have read it like 10 years ago, at Uni. Jon and I were in a bookshop not that long ago when I saw it and casually commented: “One day I should read that one”. He turned his head and looked at me in amazement. He simply couldn’t believe that I hadn’t read it yet! So, it came to me to the checkout and then home to sit in my “pending” book list.
4) Nick Hornby’s Juliet, Naked. This one is my most recent acquisition. I only bought it last week. In Tescos. For like £4. Bargain. I hope it’s better than the last one (Slam – I didn’t rate it much). Although I’ve got a feeling that I am going to enjoy this one. Even when Hornby is not very inspired, he’s always funny.
5) The time traveller’s wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I had never heard of this book before until the film was released last year (which I haven’t seen either – I want to read the book first) but somehow suddenly everybody around me HAD read it and I was the odd one out. So it had to be bought. Also, it seems that the book is 1,000 times better than the film, so that is already promising. (By the way, it took me a while to find the book with a cover that didn’t show the film cover too – I hate that…)
6) No bed for me, by Eric Chambers. This one is the oldest in my list. I’ve had it since November 2007. And I know the precise date because the author signed it and dated it for me! Eric Chambers is local to the Woking area. He happened to be in Waterstones one Saturday morning when Jon and I were shopping around. He was there, standing in front of a desk, with a pile of books, looking eagerly at people, hoping they would approach him and talk to him. And I did. And he was the cutest of grandads, very nice to talk to, and I kind of felt sorry for him and bought his book.
I will read it eventually, but I must say that it will stay in the bottom of my list whilst I have anything better to read (I hope he proves me wrong and I hope the book turns out to be a great read)
Oh Gosh, I almost forgot! Marian Keyes has a new book out! I must get that one too!
Our house has been in the market for a month now. We’ve had at least 5 viewings and it looks like there’s an interest in it. However, we haven’t received any offers yet. I’ve been watching all kinds of “home-related” TV programmes on the channel “Home” and both Jon and I are quite confident that the house will sell eventually. It ticks all the boxes: uncluttered, not too busy, recently re-decorated, commutable area, etc. So we just have to sit back and wait for an offer!
In the meantime, we have started looking at potential properties ourselves. We shouldn’t really, as we may fall in love with a house and be unable to put an offer on it (beacuse we can’t until we have an offer on ours first), but still, it is a good exercise in order to judge what there is out there, what we can expect for our money, which areas are best, etc.
Rightmove.co.uk has been my best friend in the last couple of weeks 
We’d like to stay in the area where we are at the moment. We already know the place, it would be near work, it would save us a lot of money in petrol, and all that. But at the same time, we know that the further we go, the more value for money we’ll get. For instance, for £220k in the Woking area you get a tiny semi or terraced house, with three bedrooms, one bathroom, a living-dining room and a kitchen. Basically, the same that we have at the moment, but with an extra room. In the Basingstoke area, on the other hand, for £220k you get a semi detached with three bedrooms, maybe the master bedroom will have an en-suite too, bathroom, large kitchen, separate dining room, garage, off street parking… So much more for your money. But it is one-hour drive away…
We’re going to have a look at a new build in Basingstoke today. We’ll be able to judge the distance and realise if it’s commutable or not, but we’ll also be able to look at other towns and villages in the area.
Who knows where we’ll end up!?
I missed season 12 of America’s Next Top Model. Well, I managed to watch the last couple of episodes, but you can’t really enjoy the final as much without having been watching from the beginning, without relating to those girls from the start. But still, I think the best girl won, although I wasn’t too bothered.
Teyona
A new season of ANTM has just began in Living. And, I am already hooked. Sorry, I couldn’t help it.
This cycle’s “special hook” is that all the models are short. They can’t be taller that 5 foot 7 (which in meters is 1,70 -> That in my books isn’t short, that’s normal height! I am 1,71!) but in the modelling industry, that IS short. Most of the girls are really cute, but because they never had any hopes of actually becoming models, their modelling is not as good! Especially their catwalk. Some of them are just laughable.
Well, so far, these are my favourite girls. (I won’t include Courtney, who I think is simply gorgeous, because she got eliminated yesterday, which I don’t understand…)
Laura
She’s such a cute girl. She’s pretty, she’s simple, she’s always smiling. She’s nice to everyone. And she seems to get great photos too! I really like her.
Nicole
She reminds me of OzNTM’s winner Alice Burdeau (maybe it’s the ginger hair?!), but I really belive she’s exquisite and really looks like a model. She doesn’t seem to be getting on too well with the other girls. I hope that doesn’t influence her too much.
Other girls that I like are: Sundai, Brittany and Erin.
I don’t think they’ll get too far: Kara, Jeniffer and Bianca (she should have actually gone in yesterday’s episode.. Can’t stand her)
Another season… and here I am again…
