Dear John...The Movie

Turns out that I don't have to wait until April to see Dear John at the movies because....

I JUST WON FREE TICKETS TO AN EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW SCREENING NEXT TUESDAY!!

And on a facebook competition, can you believe it?

And who says I never win anything? Oh yeah...me! Because it's usually true.


Hang on. Will there be red carpet? Will I need to buy a new dress, shoes, handbag? Maybe not, but I think a box of tissues may be in order.

Dear John

I have just finished reading the book "Dear John" by Nicholas Sparks.

I should have known what to expect since he also wrote "The Notebook" (I haven't read the book but the movie left me reeling for days after and I have only ever watched it once).

The first I heard of "Dear John", the movie, was that a few of my friends on facebook had seen it, loved it, and since I discovered that it stars Channing Tatum (if you don't know who he is, check him out. You won't be sorry!), I knew this would be one to see. But, after finding out that it's not on here until April, I did something I don't usually do...I deliberately read the book first.

I don't want to give away any spoilers on purpose but in case I do, I won't be upset if you stop reading this post right now!

After working my way through almost a whole box of tissues, I got to the end of the book. I learned that I am a lover of the fairytale. If it was up to me, every story would have a happy ending...or at least the ending that I want!

So, if you're looking for a good read and you don't mind a book that will make you cry so much that you'll never be able to read it on the bus, then I can recommend this one. I just hope the movie can live up to it.

But if not, I really don't mind. Two hours spend watching Channing Tatum on the big screen will be worth every penny of the 9 pound ticket price!

Skype and the 'office' Christmas Party

I seem to always be behind the times when it comes to technology.

I bought my first mobile phone in 2002, my first digital camera in 2004, only joined facebook 12 months ago and have finally downloaded Skype...yesterday! Why I waited so long, I'll never know.

So that means this Christmas, I'll be able to open my presents 'with' my family in Brisbane. The wonders of technology.

But that will also mean no more phone calls when I've just gotten out of bed, hair sticking out in all directions!

Today, I am starting my second round of Christmas shopping for the people I know here, since my first lot are winging their way to Australia as we speak...I hope. This round of present shopping is late, I know, with just over two weeks until Christmas, but I am armed with my list and hope to get in, buy everything on my list, within my budget, and get out before the crowds get worse. Yes, I am delusional!

On the work front, the past couple of weeks have been pretty standard, and the kids both finish school for the Christmas holidays next Wednesday at 12noon. Which should be very interesting since their schools are about a half hour drive between them. Then they have just over three weeks of holidays, and it's down to me to entertain them rain, hail, (snow??) and shine.

I was thinking about my past life as a receptionist the other day and this would have been the time of the Christmas Party that was usually down to me to help organise. Oh, how I do not miss the office Christmas Party! No matter what you planned, someone wouldn't be happy, people would never confirm or decide to bring guests at the last minute. There would be the one obnoxious drunk (or seven!) and the person who falls down and seriously injures themselves. The only thing I am organising this year is the making of a snowman out of cardboard and cotton wool. Hmm, let's see...what do I prefer?

Finding Facebook Friends

Facebook, you've done it to me again.

Every now and then, I log onto facebook and do a random search for someone who has popped into my mind, which usually leads to another search, then another, and another...you know how it goes!

This morning I was up until 1am, searching for old school friends on my high school page. Not really the best idea since I have to work today, but I managed to find a couple of "friends". (Can we really call people that if we haven't seen them for 20 years and hardly knew them at all at school?).

And when did everyone get so old? It was hard to recognise some people, while others seemed to have not changed at all. The search is harder when you have to deal with married names too. So, everyone is old and married. How did that all happen?

In other news, I got my British licence in the post yesterday. It's all shiny and new and somehow, they have taken a fairly decent photo and managed to make it look like a mugshot! Do they do that deliberately?

This weekend is a Bank Holiday here, and I briefly considered going along to the Notting Hill Carnival, but while reading about it online, I discovered that some people do not use the porta-loos provided and I decided it was not the best place for me to spend the day in my Crocs! Think about it...!

Anyway, it's my cousins birthday so we'll now be having a BBQ on Monday instead. Nice!

Keeping it real

Please don't roll your eyes....I promise not to write about facebook with every single blog, but I just wanted to say that I love it! Have I said that already?

I spent several hours the other night 'chatting' to one of my best friends from high school that I haven't seen in a good 10 years. It was amazing to find out things about her and the rest of our 'gang' that I didn't know, like who was married, who had kids and how many, etc. But in the middle of all this reminiscing, I felt really sad. How did I lose touch with these people? My 'best' friends through some of the most important years of my life.

I made a promise to myself today, that no matter how good facebook is, or how great whatever comes after it will be, I will do everything I can to hold on to those friends in my life right now, so that in another 10 years, I can know about their lives first hand, by having shared life with them...not just through a photo and a profile on a wall.

But even though I feel a bit sad today at what I have missed out on, I still love you, facebook...!

Facing the Facebook

I have been putting off joining Facebook for a couple of reasons:
1. I had no laptop at home and it was generally frowned upon to access Facebook at work and 2. I knew it would be very addictive for me.

Well, I have my new laptop and yes, am already addicted to Facebook!

I knew it would happen so I really shouldn't be surprised. I have already found so many friends that I had lost contact with and I guess I just need to wait and see if any of them want me as their friend...because we all know it's all about how many Facebook friends we have, isn't it?

Stay tuned - the promised post about the reason for this blog is on it's way... after I just check my Facebook page again!