Mutterings and Ramblings

Beautiful

Sat, 17 May 2008 00:55:40 +0200

A very good and dear friend a few days ago shared a piece of music with me that has really helped them and moved them. I immediately loaded it into iTunes, and I think it is quite possibly one of the most beautiful bits of music I've heard. It is just so unbelievable moving and emotionally powerful, it nearly moved me to tears when I heard it. And I have never had that from a piece of music before.

Unfortunately it isn't available to listen to on-line and I can't find any clips of it. It is from the album Buddist Chants and Peace Music and is the first of the two tracks - Hanshan Temple.

I really hope to be able to use it in a massage session sometime soon, but I don't think I can use it for any old treatment. It will have to be the right time, the right energy and the right connection first for us both to truly experience a powerful moment through the music.

Brimful of Asher

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:56:40 +0200

Corner shops - they are just amazing places! Or at least ours is.

I tend to buy most of our bread (when I don't make it) and milk there because its local, convenient, not some horrible supermarket (ie Tesc-hell) and supports them being there. But we use them for so much more than that. The amount of times we've been cooking making a meal and realised we needed a certain ingredient but forgot to get it.

We always think "oh they won't have it, but we'll have a look in case." I don't think we have been disappointed yet. This shop seems to have every product going, only about 3 of them at any one time but it just has everthing.

Today I wanted some coffee and assumed they only have Nescafe and Gold Blend, no they have about six types!

Its just the best corner shop in the world and we love it!

Bless us all, everyone

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:17:07 +0100

Dear Diary,

Its been a long time since I�ve written to you, and a long time since I have made regular updates. A lot has happened these past few months.

I�ve got married! On 23rd June 2007 Dean and I celebrated being together by becoming a legally recognised couple by singing as Civil Partners in front out our closest friends. I couldn�t have been prouder or happier. It was an absolutely perfect day!

I resigned from my old job as an IT Manager. To cut a long story short (I just deleted the long story to protect the guilty), I took legal advice on Constructive Dismissal � I had a very strong case. But in order to go to tribunal I had to go through the companies Grievance Procedures. I couldn�t bear to be there a day longer, so while away with my family in the Lake District I discussed the situation with them and made the decision to resign.

During my three week notice period the MD continued to avoid me, not once did he comment on my departure other then to have a meeting to discuss recruiting my replacement. I arranged an Exit Interview with him � he then managed to be busy at the scheduled time. Apparently he still wanted to see me and have the meeting. But on my last day he didn�t say goodbye, thank me for all the work I put in over the three years I was there or the effort with the move. I lost what little respect I had left for him.

So since 1st November 2007 I have been self-employed and loving it! My massage business is growing fantastically well, I�m busier with massage clients then I have ever been. I am completing my Waxing Training and that is a service I am very excited about offering. Although at the moment I have more enquiries for Back, Crack & Sack waxing then I do any body waxing. And until I feel I have mastered the basics then I don�t want to commit to additional training.

Looking ahead to 2008 � I have a lot of plans and a lot of Goals that I really want to work hard at achieving. The current plans are:

V-Flyer Manchester Party
Asia Tour � Mumbai (12hours), Bangkok, Siem Reap, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai
Orlando trip
Amsterdam weekend

My goals are:

Build my website business
Build my massage and waxing business
Build my Forever Living team, to move up at least one level on the Marketing Plan (but I�m aiming for Assistant Manager � 2 levels) by the end of 2008!
Make more money in 2008 then I did as an unhappy IT Manager
Loose some weight � yes that one again! I have really put on too much weight lately

At the moment I am very much in the early days of being self-employed and its hard work. I want to build up some cash reserves if I can over the next few months. One goal I am committing myself to, and with a sensible time scale to give me the time to do it is to take Dean for a weekend away. He knows about it, it will be a long romantic weekend in Amsterdam and I want to book it and pay for it all. He is doing a lot to support me build my businesses and I want to say thank you with a weekend away, just the two of us for fun, shopping, sight-seeing and eating! And of course a meal at a Michelin starred restaurant of his choice. With the kind of budget I would look at, for two people including flights, hotel, food, some shopping, etc I will do this no later then my 33rd Birthday (April 2009). Nearly a year and a half away � I have other commitments and trips in that time so this will be a goal to build my businesses to pay for it.

I want to go to a gay bar

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 23:38:11 +0100

Why says the conservative right is obessed with us puffs? Well the American Conservative wiki site! Just check out the most popular pages.

Love shine a light

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 02:29:23 +0100

Many months ago Dean and I decided to stay at Hotel De La Paix in Siem Reap. Then while in New York on our recent trip I was reading an article all about how the hotel is dedicated to working with and supporting the local community. This is something we knew about as part of our 3 night Connect package we have the following included "Complement your Connecting Experience with a tuk tuk ride to the local village or pagoda to deliver Family Food Support" and some other options, we had planned on doing an order with Viking Direct for pens, pencils etc to be donated to a local school.

Well then I looked a little more into how the hotel works with the community - honestly, I was crying earlier reading about it! The Community page on the hotels website describes what you can do and donations you can make. You can, for example, sponsor a child to go to school for USD10, buy two pigets for a family to raise for USD 70 that 6 months later then can sell for 8 - 10 times that, provide 5 families with a water pump and seeds for USD 90.

For a lot of these activities you can arrange before you go so you can go and meet the families you have helped and see the impact you've had on a community.

And then I got to the big one - Build a Home. The housing market in the UK is a nightmare, I don't know how people are supposed to get on the property ladder here in the UK.

Well in Cambodia it will generally take about two and a half years for a family to save enough to buy posts, wood for the frame and tin for the roof of their own home. They will then construct that and live in it without any walls for a further two and a half to three years. For approximately USD 1200 you guy build a brick house including a toilet and give them security and hope for a better life. And if planned in advance you can be with the family when they move in to share the joy and excitement of it!

I must admit, I've never really read of a hotel that is so focused on encouraging its guests to help and support the local community, personally I think its great. We have the big charity events in the UK like Children in Need or Comic Relief. You can give your cash and know its being well used, but to be able to do that and then see it being used, well that is another story all together!

Would be interested in anyones experiences of similar hotels or involvement in community support events of this type. If I can raise the cash I would dearly love to Build a House for a family, or if not a house use it on many of the other programmes they offer.

The germans are a patient people, good things come to those who wait

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 13:31:00 +0200

10th October, 2007.

This is what I hope to be a very special day.

The day I resigned from my last full-time permanent IT position. Today, after several months of stress, frustration and annoyance I finally did it. I can't continue to work in this place so I have now resigned. On the 31st October 2007 I will leave here into the face of ... well unemployment! But not really, I am going to become self-employed! I will be working my massage and web design / development businesses. Just need to get some more clients booked in and I'm laughing!

Its all very scary and bloody exciting!!

Oops ... i did it again.

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 14:34:28 +0200

Oops! I just rebooted rather then logged out of the document management server. Shhhh.

I put on some make-up and turn up the eight track

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 13:35:00 +0200

And so it begins.

I have made a decision, a rather life changing one! After starting down this road in October 2002 its about bloody time I did something about it!

I am now committing to making mdomassage, Waxing for Guys and mdodesign, a successful busy full-time job rather then working in IT!!

Today I did some training in a new treatment that I am really excited about - waxing! It's an incredibly popular treatment to offer, one that I hope will help bring in regular and repeat customers and will spread the word about me and what I do.

Today I did the training using the PhD Safewax system, was really cool! Much better and easier to use then I expected it to be, and I think would work out more economical to use. We also did Hot Wax training ... that I loved! Its really cool, you just put it on, it grips the hairs and you remove it without a strip or anything. Will be finding out more about that I think!

Wig in a box

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 13:13:00 +0200

If all goes to plan Miss Mat�ous Rose could well be hitting the streets of New York again this year. I just need to find a Farrah Fawcett wig and sort out my job.

Watch this space!

On nights like this
when the world's a bit amiss
and the lights go down
across the trailer park
I get down
I feel had
I feel on the verge of going mad
and then it's time to punch the clock

I put on some make-up
and turn up the tape deck
and pull the wig down on my head
suddenly I'm Miss Midwest
Midnight Checkout Queen
until I head home
and put myself to bed

I look back on where I'm from
look at the woman I've become
and the strangest things
seem suddenly routine
I look up from my Vermouth on the rocks
a gift-wrapped wig still in the box
of towering velveteen.

I put on some make-up
and some LaVern Baker
and pull the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm Miss Beehive 1963
Until I wake up
And turn back to myself

Some girls they have natural ease
they wear it any way they please
with their French flip curls
and perfumed magazines
Wear it up
Let it down
This is the best way that I've found
to be the best you've ever seen

I put on some make-up
and turn up the eight-track
I'm pulling the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm Miss Farrah Fawcett
from TV
until I wake up
and turn back to myself

Shag, bi-level, bob
Dorothy Hammil do,
Sausage curls, chicken wings
It's all because of you
With your blow dried, feather back,
Toni home wave, too
flip, fro, frizz, flop,
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
It's all because of you

I put on some make-up
turn up the eight-track
I'm pulling the wig down from the shelf
Suddenly I'm this punk rock star
of stage and screen
and I ain't never
I'm never turning back

Rock the vote!

Tue, 01 May 2007 18:26:33 +0200