March 2017 update

. I've spent 16 years now in north London and finally things are starting to aline. Many of you from small towns will probably take this completely for granted. If you were to talk to someone about a product that you bought or a gym class or your dentist. You might actually know what the other person is talking about or where to find it. You might live in a town that only has one Tesco or one Sainsbury's. This is not the case for me. I live in a big city that is populated with millions of people. My circles until now have never crossed.

Have a listen to all the 'crossing' that's been happening since March 1st 2017. A lot of this is North London but I feel that I've finally arrived. I don't know how else to explain it. Most of these stories all happened at the recent wedding in Israel.

When I worked at the NHS there was a guy in IT. At the wedding someone who knew I worked at this specific NHS trust asked if I knew him. She then went on to say that her neighbour's daughter was to marry him. Random, but I actually know who he is.

I'm talking to a guy about yoga and reiki and he tells me that he has had reiki done by Carly Garce. I then burst out with, 'OMG! Carly is my reiki master!' Wow! We then go on to talk about the infrared sauna at the yoga studio he attends. I've never been, don't have a membership, it's more than I can fork out at the moment.

I'm taking to a guy about veganism and he says that his favourite restaurant is vegan (although he is not) and it's Vantra/Vitao. I'm like, OMG! I'm going there on Saturday for the first time. It's my friends hen party.

At another point I'm talking to the groom's cousins husband and my first job in the U.K. comes up. I use to work at JD Sports on Oxford Street in the 90's. He asked if I knew Kofee and Pam. YES! Pam was my boss and Kofee was her partner. He grew up with Kofee in east London. Random again!

At one point I'm messaging a friend and randomly we are taking about favourite animals and he says once it was a wolf. 🐺 2 days later at breakfast I'm holding one of the wedding guests gorgeous baby son. His name is wolf in Hebrew.

There is just umpteen things / comments that have happened. I often forget how educated I am when it comes to religions and faiths. I took classes in Judaism in college. (As well as Islam and Catholicism - also went to catholic school runed by nuns). If I had a buck / pound for every time someone asked me if I was Jewish I would be rich! They would only ask me once we were talking, as I'm quite aware of customs words traditions etc.

On the last day at breakfast I had a load of people stopping me because they loved my tshirt. I've had it a few months and it's never got so much love before.
It reads:
Race: Human
Politics: Freedom
Religion: Love

Friday March 10th 2017 (still on annual leave)

I started my day off with the necessary adult duties of laundry. Once I had a load washed and hung, I headed out to my friend Ellie. She's a new friend however our conversations and thoughts are so aligned. I've never been to Ellie's house so I met her south of the Thames. She's doing an online tarot card course so she pulled a load of tarot cards for me. The message that kept on coming over and over was to just chill, let go, stop thinking and just be. This is the story of my life but I feel that I'm always need reminding.

Ellie is fortunate enough to have a infrared sauna in her spare room. (Lucky ducky - I'll get one, one day) the medical benefits of infrared sauna's are really amazing. It's very different to a normal sauna and far more powerful. Towards the end of my visit I sat in there naked for 45 minutes and even had a nap. She was doing paperwork work downstairs, plus she uses the sauna for 20 minutes daily. Very few places in London have these types of saunas. There is a place in Notting Hill that charge £38 for 20 min! Yikes! I know I won't be able to use Ellie's sauna often but it was a delightful treat. Thank you x

Now let's talk about the universe and money. I'm surviving but not flourishing financially. I would like to pay off all debts, flourish and give more to charity. (Since the age of 16 - I give to charity).

The day before I was flying out to Israel, it dawned on my that I actually need some jewellery to wear with the dress. I was rushing around town and by the time I finished buying all the bling it was £80. I only wear real jewellery so fake stuff is a one off. Once I was in Israel, on a free day I went to the local mall and found much better and cheaper things that I purchased and used instead. So yesterday I did some returns and got £62 back! Thank you universe.

For a while now the bottom corner of my phone cover/case has been broken. So when I drop my phone on that corner, it's completely exposed and not protected. The cover that I had was an apple original product. They are expensive in my option but I love that they are silicone (vegan) and no slip, good grip. I've decided recently that it's high time I get a new cover seeing the last time I dropped my phone the corner got chipped. I walk into apple and picked a new cover. While chatting to the girl who is taking my payment I point to my existing cover and say, I hope it doesn't break here again. She then asked how long I've had it. '11 months and I have the electronic receipt!' Her reply was, 'Well then, we'll just swap it free!' Thank you universe for just saving me £35

I've had a swatch watch since I was a teen. I don't always wear it, but I own it. The battery in my swatch stopped about 2 years ago. I was about to head over Timpson's as I passed Swatch. I walked in to see what they charge. Free for all swatch watches! Thank you Universe (worth noting that Timpsons and Greggs the baker hire ex convicts / criminals and people with spent convictions. I believe in reform and support these companies)

I'm walking around town and bumped into my old housemate. He moved out in February and only lasted 3 months. That's very short. Most of the guys I live with stay for about 3 years. This guy was in a bad place and I suppose we both thought that it would work out. Well it didn't and it was a relief when he left. He's got some major stuff to sort out in his life. None the less I wished him well when he left, and knew nothing about his new movements. It was nice to talk to him for a couple minutes and he's doing better. Although he too was released back to the universe and no longer in my life. I was still curious. Now I know he's ok ish.

Saturday March 11th 2017 - Bride number 2's hen party

This was quite a interesting group of people. From the look of things, I think the bride has a variety of different circles of friends. Pro's and cons. Many knew each other but I'm guessing few know her. That's not the case for me. We met on a residential yoga retreat in Portugal in 2013.  Since then 80% of our catch-ups are walking around parks. Nothing beats a good walk and talk.

Anyhow, back to this group. I was not feeling it at all. Many were super bitchy, even when they were trying to be nice it was so forced. I survived as I always do, however it's unlikely I will socialise with this crew. I did a whole lot of people watching and observing. Occasionally I had to speak up when it came to the vegan stuff.

Might as well start with that. The bride is not a 110% vegan like me. She's probably a 60% she tries but also eats a load of non vegan food. Fish, dairy meat etc. Why I've given her a 60% it's because she's does full vegan meals often and sometimes does full vegan days. Anyhow, the point of this explanation, is that it was the bride who picked the vegan restaurant! NOT ME (thank you universe none the less for delivering)

Before the first activity - scavenger hunt even began. One of the girls was complaining about the evening meal. What's wrong with people. She hasn't even gone there yet or looked at the menu. Her negative energy was constant throughout the day. And would you guess who had a shitty day? HER! Serves her right. During the scavenger hunt she refused to wear the 'Where's Wally / Wanda?' hat and glasses 👓. The rest of us all made the effort. Her day got worse when we went for dinner. Due to her making loads of harsh vegan comments, I was able to give her some back, in a kinder gentler way. Other people had loads of positive comments and I would reply. 'Thank you for being understanding and excepting, what I'm doing is for myself and I'm not telling other people what to do.' You could tell that the meanie knew that message was intended for her. She's gone now, I've released her back to the universe immediately.

Let's talk about passing judgement / opinion. Is it humanly possible to not have some kind of opinion on most matters? I'm careful to avoid confrontation and keep my opinions to myself. We are all entitled to our own thoughts.  - At the same table is a pregnant lady. She was 2 people away so although I could hear everything, I wasn't involved in the conversation. Her parents are abroad and she only wants them to come once the baby is 3 weeks old. She is hiring a night nurse!
You guys should live in my head for a few minutes if you can handle it. Let's recap what's going on in my head. 'What the fuck! A night nurse! Seriously!'
I'll stop there. I don't want to loose any of my faithful readers. Thinks that's only one or two people. Lastly, when it came to the same person. We were talking about where we live. Her reply was the beginning of her post code. What the fuck again! Seriously! I know my London postcodes, I also know it's one, if not the most expensive postcode in the country. Who fucking cares! Just say where the fuck you live. Man some people really piss me off.

Sunday March 12th 2017 - full moon!!

The wonders of Mother Nature are on display at Columbia Road Flower Market. Such a special place on a Sunday morning in London. I've got flowers for my bedroom, the office at work and some for the house. Pictures on Instagram

Later that day, I met up with a friend and her daughter. I don't see her often and we have little small talk. Her life, childhood, upbringing and employment is so different to me. It's very hard to relate. So when we talk, I ask real questions. If I wanted to talk about the weather. I would talk to my beloved father. (He still mentions the weather in 50% of all our conversations, texts and emails)

Anyways. A few days later I've received a text from her saying: Yes I'm fine, thanks. I don't know how to say this diplomatically but I didn't enjoy our last meet-up, as so often happens after seeing you i ended up feeling interrogated and judged. I do genuinely know you don't mean to, but this seems to be the dynamic that has developed between us. Apologies if this comes across as harsh, I don't know how else to put it...

Oh well, what can I do. I see it like it is. If you don't want an intelligent emotionally deep, caring, loving friend. Then there is not much I can do.

If there is only one word on my grave stone it would read 'Friend' and one day I hope it changes to 'Loved'

While we are talking about the friendship cull. Let's talk about another friend of mine. This one is a male. I've known him since 2004, that's a while ago now. Anyways, he kind of wants me but can't have me. He's not my type but he is a great friend. He hasn't tried any real moves over the years. He did once hold my hand in the cinema before I pulled it back. I really don't want guys getting the wrong impression. I'm not a player, it's wrong to give people hope when there isn't any at all. He's got a lot of crap going on in his life. I've learned a lot in the last few years. I don't take on people's 'stuff', if I can help with my friendship then I will. That's it, that's all. So last month I had a really painful bacterial chest infection (think I might still have it). So I was texting him and tell him and his asshole reply was 'I can rub your chest for you'

Seriously! What a stupid fucker! There's another person off the list. He doesn't have the balls either to confront his stupidity. I didn't reply and haven't heard from him either

Think I'll end there, this is getting long

Laters

Lxx

NICE

Hello Hello

So! Things at work and my health are kinda the same so we wont talk about that today.

We will talk about how it’s been such a nice day despite a death. Yes, someone died today. Alison’s grandmother was 2 weeks short of her 90^th birthday and she died this morning. Very sad for Alison and the family. (The condolence card is in the post)

But let me tell you all about the nice people that made today so great. Adam, David and Jane.

Adam is work Adam, former manager and now just a good friend. Shame he lives at the other end of the country or else I would go visit him and his family more. I’ve been off sick since last Wednesday and made an appearance today. I sent Adam a longish email and he sent me a lovely reply. It’s always important to know that people care and that they are there for you. In life you don’t always need people to fix things, you just need kind people that care. Showing kindness is so easy. Thank you Adam xx

I also returned to work with lots of hello’s and emails inviting me to lunch. I must be a loud mouth because they all know when I haven’t been there for a few days. Prior to arriving at work I got a text from my colleague telling me that I should really go see Colonel Sanders and he can fix me. They all know I’m a vegetarian but think chicken is the answer.

The next person who made this day really good is David. Well David and his wife Julie. They are strangers, I have never met them, nor is it likely that I ever will.

Last Thursday while I was off sick and feeling shit I decided that I couldn’t eat chocolate any longer and it was time to visit the grocery store. So I’m in the parking lot of Tesco and as I’m swinging into a free parking spot I accidently crash into a blue Honda Civic. OH MY GOD!!! I so desperately wanted to get the hell out of there and fast. SERIOUSLY I WANTED TO RUN AWAY. I didn’t because its not the way I role. I’m a good moral-ish person that was raised by pretty great parents. Instead I fixed my mal parking attempt, got out of the car shaking, checked out the damage on the poor Honda and searched for some paper and a pen. My note was simple, I was sacred shitless and had no idea what to write. How about,  ‘Hey, I’m a fucking idiot. Sorry’ I opted for ‘Hi, I hit your car. I’m very sorry, please call me to sort 07***.

While in Tesco I needed comfort food and purchased some shortbread biscuits. Times like these are when you need all butter and calories don’t exist.

Now I knew that these people were going to call me soon but I was petrified. The call could go in so many directions. The possibilities are endless. Lucky for me Julie called, she and her husband were at the car and were wondering if I was still at Tesco. I explained that I wasn’t and that I was sorry etc. They needed my details which I texted and they replied with a the following. I was also explaining that I was going to the hospital later that day and might not answer. (I will blog hospital stuff soon)

‘No Worries Leena, these things happen, thank you for leaving the note, we appreciate it. Etc etc. ‘

How nice is that! In the proceeding days we both made calls to garages and I sourced a new Honda civic bumper that would arrive in 2 days. I opted to fix this situation by not going down the insurance route, need to save my no claims discount. I spoke to David a few times and sent emails etc. All correspondence has been great. I don’t know if our greatness was bouncing off each other but man, has this whole experience been so pleasant.

So today David texted me, to let me know that the repair was completed, and it was fine to call the Honda garage to pay for the labor costs. Once I did, I texted him “Thanks David, they are all paid up and I have emailed you the receipt for your records. Thanks Leena”

His final reply was part of my great day! He wrote, “Back home now. Thanks for your honesty and being proactive. You’ve restored my faith in human nature.”

How nice is that? Seriously! What a nice nice nice text. (David and Julie’s Thank you card is in the post) I’m not trying to be wet but I need them to know that they too have restored my faith in human nature. There was never an ounce of drama or raised voices etc.

Now for Jane. Jane is Met police officer. I’m very Canadian when it comes to my street, my  community and I am the coordinator for the Neighborhood Watch on my street. The Met email me and I then email the other residents on the road. Today the council were coming with the police to meet a few residents who were available to discuss the security on our road and things that could be improved and looked at. Street lighting, wheelie bins, securing gates etc. I had met Jane last month and the neighborhood watch meeting and we had a little chat then, but today we got to talk a little bit more. After the official stuff was done it was just girlie banter. The others were still talking and so I invited Jane in. I asked her to have a look at the rear of my house from a security point of view. (I will be making some changes shortly). Right from the second she walked in, she said how my house had a really good feel to it. She said it a few times, she is right, it’s a good house. It’s why within the first minute of viewing it 10 years ago I knew it was the one. She also commented on lovely smell lilies as soon as you walk in. 

Here is a pic of them, they are from Columbia Road Flower Market.

While she was over I asked her to find me a nice guy, I poured her some Robinsons Orange Squash, discussed sex, boys and love (it came up), gave her a tour of the house, and cut and wrapped up a piece of Teach’s Orange cake. (Teach is one of my flat mates who is getting me fat! He’s a great baker and chef.) In the middle of our yapping she stopped me to tell me how nice I was and how it was such a change from her normal day where the public are just shouting at her. How nice was that! I was just being me and she liked me. The police are nice people, we should all be nicer to them.

And well guys, that was my day, made of nice people being nice. Nice nice nice. As they end every episode of Sesame Street.  - Today’s episode has been brought to you by the letters N I C E. 

L xx