Thursday 21st April 2o11

Last day today of almost three 7-day weeks and I’m SO excited about having a lie in tomorrow it’s almost sad... but then consecutive 6am alarms aren’t really too much fun.

It’s my last day, also, in Old Street today. Every time I have set foot out of the underground station a beautiful new development of flats has towered over me, ominously – and I have to say, living in one of them, one day, is a dream. London is just SO expensive though, and why wouldn’t it be? It’s over-populated, over-hyped by foreigners, and really got something to it (I almost feel like I should rename this blog “the London diaries”, the amount I seem to harp on about it.) But really, London, whoever you are, and wherever you’re from, is a city you can make your own, call your own. YouGov has been great experience and fortunately for me it looks like I will continue writing for the site once a week.

At the moment it feels as though I’m living a cycle I’m just unable to break out of. I wake up, everyday, hoping to feel better, to have forgotten some of the past. But it never happens; I realise though, that as much as I wish it would stand still for me, time is moving on, and so too is the world. So from me, for now, it’s over and out. xxx

Wednesday 20th April 2o11

*Maybe I lied. The highlight of my day was actually discovering a link on the BBC news website to one of my articles on the YouGov page. I have to say though that despite absolutely lovin’ this work experience, the very best parts of my day come often when I’m home, where an aura of hope and happiness pervades, and though we have troubles like any other family, we just count the blessing that we are all well and together. We joke and laugh, eat together and there’s a reassurance in knowing that the house is ‘full’, the family complete.

I feel a little melancholy today – it’s glorious outside and the warmth takes me back to summer times gone by. It’s still difficult to digest the truth, that sometimes what we lose in the passage of time can never, ever come back.

We’re 2/3 of the way through April already, even though the start of the year seems only just to have passed. It’s crystal clear in my mind, the memory of a midnight filled with promise as though it were just yesterday. So far 2011 has brought little other than struggle, but I haven’t given up hope that when things are as bad as they can possibly be, they will only get better. The seasons are smiling, and so too will life.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13091768

Tuesday 19th April 2o11

I finished reading “Short Girls” today and while the title suggests a “chick-flick” genre of novel, it is in fact a little gem of a read, albeit undercover (a little tongue-in-cheek, I know). On the surface it tells the story of American-born-and-raised Vietnamese sisters Van and Linny; their lives, careers and relationships, with men, their ageing father and each other. Ultimately, though, it maps the quest of two individuals for their respective identities. While some people have the courage to forge their own identity, it’s often easier to assume the one that your surroundings thrust upon you. Sometimes we forget our individuality to fit the mould society fashions for us – forgo one identity in endeavouring to fit into another. Take the niqab ban imposed in France early last week - forgo your religion if you want to be ‘French’. So Short Girls tells a tale of something the same, girls struggling to reconcile their Vietnamese heritage with the American culture they wish to embrace; it’s enlightening, informative and real.

The highlight of my day was, undoubtedly, taking the early train into Euston and walking through the city in the balmy morning sunshine, with, wait for it, a free Caffe Nero hot choc in hand, from having frequented the coffee shop far too often ;) But dedication clearly pays off, notwithstanding the 9 drinks I had to pay for to get the 10^th one free lol. That's not the point, is it? Lunch was no less enjoyable, just being able to step out, bathed in warmth, rather than shuddering from the cold. I took a tentative walk through the Whitecross street market, just a stones throw from the YouGov offices and while it’s relatively small, I was very pleasantly surprised by the hustle-bustle of the London lunchers, the hotch-potch of exotic food and fruit stalls creating for a melting pot of global cuisines. From Caribbean jerk chicken to Thai prawn curry, Mexican fried rice and Italian Pizza Margherita – Hell, even French crêpes, Japanese sushi and your English fish ‘n’ chips – you name it and they got it. Absolutely incredible, I do recommend a visit.

Having been trapped indoors for most of this beautiful day, it's almost home time now and I'm hoping to catch the last of the spring sun before it sets for the day. So, it’s over and out. X

Oh, just one more example by the way of wedding mania gone far too far. I mean, seriously?!