Eight legged freaks...

I was quite happy watching a film last night. I had had a particularly lazy day doing not a lot, making up for the day before which had been ridiculously busy at work. Then this rather large spider appeared from behind the tv. It must have been at least 3 inches long, or wide, depending on how you looked at it. I didn't look at it for long. I didn't really have the chance, the slipper which my dad threw in its direction sent it back into hiding again. This is not a good scenario for me. There are only three things which really scare me to the point of hyperventilation...1. horses, 2. needles (correction, people sticking me with needles on purpose) 3. Spiders. I know, it's pathetic, but I am a complete nervous wreck around the things. If it hadn't appeared in the first place I would have been ok, but now I had seen it and knew there was one in the room I had to leave...fast. I scurried upstairs and hid in front of my computer. Shortly after this there was a general thumping of shoes on the floor, my shoes, being used to pummel the spider. It thought it would be a good idea to make a dash across the living room. My mum thought otherwise. I personally would have given my cat a chance, she's a spider specialist, taking one leg at a time, whilst its running, until there are about three legs left, then she gets bored. My method of tackling them varies, depending on what I have to hand...de-icer and a sledge hammer is a good combination. Often leaving the room works best for me. Yes, I know i'm meant to like animals, but spiders definately fall outside this category as far as I'm concerned.
Now all i'm worried about is if the rest of its family come looking for revenge...think i'll sleep in the car tonight.
Also work keeps playing on my mind at the moment. Everyone is working really hard and are very tired, stressed etc. I'm not just talking about nurses, but the vets and the VCA's too. Everyone is pushing themselves to the limit, and i'm worried that we are all pushing ourselves too hard. something is going to give at some point.

One down...now the real challenge begins...

All week, I have been driving the receptions at work mad. I have been waiting for the results of the first module of my diploma. Plus I have gone 4 weeks without the sound of an F1 car buzzing in my ears, so the situation was getting desperate. Thankfully, both of these problems have now been resolved. I was certain my results were getting posted to work, as ths is down as my term time address. In fact, on thursday when a certain vet got to the post first and told me I had a letter, I thought I might ave got them a day early "you will have them by 21st august" I was told. This statement was starting to look decidedly dodgy. On friday, I sat in reception and announced that I was not going to do any work until I had that envelope in my hands. That lasted for about three minutes, by which time I had 4 people waiting to see me. I'm sure I had a larger list than the vets that morning, it never seemed to end, but I digress...
I checked my emails; nothing. Post at work arrived; nothing. 'I'm going to have to wait for the whole weekend' I thought, and that just wasn't fair. I wanted my results...now.
when I eventually made it home on friday, there was a large white envelope waiting for me , with RVC stamped all over it. It took me a whole 10 minutes to open that envelope. I needed to know how I had done, but what if I had failed? I had built myelf up for 2 yearsof hard work ahead, but if I had failed this module that would be it, all over, no diploma.
Thankfully, I do have a long 2 years ahead. not only had I passed, I had passed with a distinction, I could not have hoped for anything better!! I now have 6 more modules to contend with, and have set the bar for the standard I know I can reach.
I could soon be putting my racing career wheels in motion too. I have looked at the application packs for the racing licences, found out where the nearest test centre is, how much it costs etc. Plus, I have a friend who is interested in us racing together. we have worked out that we could finance a couple of cars between us (a mini for her, a caterham for me). She already holds her racing licence, so I need to catch up!
What's even better is that my boys in silver have achieved a front row lock out in qualifying for tomorrows European Grand Prix. This weekend just keeps on getting better. Maybe things are starting to look up after all....

racing driver in the making...

Just for a change, last weekend I was back down Brands Hatch, for a full three days, friday-sunday. One of the best meetings of the year was on, World Touring Cars, plus support races. I'd never done all three days of a race meet before, neither had I camped at the track either. When the heavens opened at 8am that morning and thunder rumbled around the track, I started to wonder whether there was anything else that I could be doing with my time; of course not!! A marshal loves racing, whatever the weather. Plus, I got a day off work to do this, and standing in the rain was certainly better than a day at work. However, the rain soon stopped, and the racing started. And what an entertaining day friday was.

It is at this point I should remind all potential racers that cars do better on the grey stuff, especially after rain. playing on wet slippery grass and kerbs will not win you any extra points, no matter how many times you spin the car and manage to keep it going afterwards.

I had the pleasure of manning (or is that womaning?) post 6. This is situated just after the first hairpin at the top of the circuit (druids for those of you with a circuit map). I love this corner, you are always guaranteed some sort of action. I had two cars, all day come and say hello. saturday, I had nothing. Sunday...I got my hands on a proper touring car on sunday!! He spun in the straight just after the corner, and I got to it first. I still have a piece of the car sitting next to my computer. No idea what it is, some sort of electrical component, but it came off MY touring car, MINE!!

Camping at the circuit was a lot of fun. I had four marshals put my tent up for me as I had an "urgent" phone call to take, and supervised from the dryness of the car. You can get away with a lot as a female marshal. You get the same amount of respect as the men, but they are a lot nicer to you and feel the need to protect you all the time. You also get a lot of grief as a female marshal, but as long as you give as much as you get its a lot of fun. I just remind them how young I am (very much different to how young I feel!!)

Then, after 3 days of very good racing, on the monday it was my turn to drive round the circuit, and it was so much fun!! First I drove a big BMW M3, then I had a go in a single seater. When you are standing at the side of the track you can see where the fastest line round the circuit is, and frequently remind yourself that you drive better than they could. Now having seen it from the drivers viewpoint, I can see how they get it wrong. you are flying along the track, at ridiculous speed (although my car was limited to 90mph) with your backside about 3 inches from the ground. Its not easy. However, I loved every minute of it!! I really want to race now, single seater or saloon. I felt so happy and comfortable with that crash helmet on, and depsite the fact that during the touring cars the real dangers of motorsport were brought home rather tragically, I would get into a racing car tomorrow.

RIP Henry Surtees, 18 years old...a great talent lost from the sport.

what do you do in yours?

I had a rather interesting commute into work this morning. I know, commutes to work are not interesting, and yes I would have to agree with you the majority of the time, but this morning was different.
I was following a rather weevy car this morning, and thought it best to get past him as quickly as possible, mostly because I was curious about why he was suffering from the inability to keep his car between 2 white lines. Last time I had been following something that wobbly was a lorry, whose driver was trying to peel a banana whilst sterring with his elbows. This driver was doing something a little different; he was shaving. It was an electric one, not a foam and razor type job, that would get rather messy, especially on a bumpy road. In fact, I doubt that hitting a bump with an electric one is none too pleasant either.
It was the first time I had seen someone shaving and driving at the same time, I wonder if they could pull you over for that?
A few cars up, I overtook a woman trying to apply makeup. I would love to know what she looked like at the end of the journey, and pray she didn't try anything with a mascara pen...
Now I probably look a bit odd when people overtake me, I tend to turn up the music, set the cruise control and sing along, quite loudly (and badly) to whatever is in the CD player at the time. But thats normal, everyone does that don't they? Shaving and makeup, not normal. Piece of advice for anyone who does do this, get up earlier, or you will cause yourself an injury!!
Its always entertaining looking into the car you are passing, I have seen people with the road atlas on the wheel. I've always wondered about what happens if they come to a roundabout...I guess not everyone is ready for a satnav. And people with a drink in their hands, I would invest in good car upholstery cleaner before it is too late.
So tomorrow during my commute, I would like a nice, quiet, dull drive in please, so much amusement is not good first thing in the morning.

"study week"?

Yesterday, I survived my first dash through the dartford tunnel. Having that much traffic crammed down from 18 lanes to 4 is not a good idea. but I made it anyway, safely to the south mimms services and my home for the next 5 days, the premiere travel inn. It's actually quite nice there, and Ive now found out that there are 3 other people from my course staying there too.
I've been looking forward to this study week for quite a while now, I really feel like i'm doing something to improve...something, it gives me something to do for the next 2 years anyway, which hopefully will lead me on to better things. I now have a brand new student card, with a really bad photo of me on it and access to the campus for the next 2 years. I love the RVC campus at Potters bar, it quiet and in the middle of nowhere so very few distractions. I am sitting in the same place I was 4 years ago when I was writing my dissertation. Now i'm writing a blog, watching a thunderstorm roll in, debating about going for a swim.
Today has been very much about introductions, who everyone is, what the course is about etc, the usual start to any course. Then this afternoon we had the traditional "teambuilding session". our task: build your ideal domestic animal, and we were presented with a blue peter style box full of egg boxes, newspaper, straws and yoghurt pots. I cannot remember that last time I had that much fun building something, and it looked like an animal at the end of it!! we had everything a vet nurse could want in an animal; no vocal cords, no claws, the biggest veins in the world which anyone could hit, and an anal cap to stop all those "accidents" where the faeces end up all over the operating table because the vet just had to really squeeze everything that hard. In all 6 amazing creatures were created this afternoon by the group, photos of which will follow.
After that was coffee and biscuits, a bit of discussion about critical thinking, then home. whio knows, tomorrow I might even do some studying....

I shouldn't be here!!

Currently, I'm sitting in my room, working on a report for my diploma, entitled "why I enrolled on the diploma". I did think about just sending in a copy of the application form again, they asked the same question on that, but I can guess what I might get back, and my days as a student would come to a very sudden halt. I also have to include what is going to stop me completing the diploma, and how I will overcome this. Now, potentially I can see a lot of things that could stop me taking the diploma, a few of which are none too pleasent. Being flattened by a bus could be a potential obstacle, getting eaten at work, getting fired, a "marshalling" incident gone wrong, power cuts, the list is endless. I have 1500 words, so I better pick my reasons carefully. I also now have to make up contingency plans for everything that could possibly go wrong, including the above reasons for why I might not finish the course. 1500 words is not enough.
Something else that could stop me is Formula One. This weekend its the British Grand Prix. By all rights, I should be there, not here. For the past 5 years I have made the pilgrimage to the home of British motor racing to see this race. Last year I got soaked, and I loved every minute of it. Lewis Hamilton won is spectactular fashion in the wet. this year, he's second to last on the grid because the brick of a car he is driving is just not good enough. I agree with Eddie Jordan, it needs to be torched (preferably whist parked next to a red car, kills two birds with one stone).
But sadly we did not go this year. Instead, I have to get all my team gear on and watch it in front of the tv. Its just not the same!! The sound's not the same, the atmosphere, its all not here, its there!!
Meanwhile, whilst watching the race the pile of college work will not be getting any smaller, but at least its not going anywhere....just like me.

being a student....again..

As of monday, I will officially be a student again. I will be starting my Graduate Diploma in Professional and Clinical Veterinary Nursing. I know, it all sounds very posh doesn't it. I can assure you though, it will not be. Despite how much I am looking foward to starting it, in about 6 months there will be a lot of swearing, cursing, regret that I ever started the damn thing as I disappear under an ever growing pile of work, whilst trying to fit it in around my track time and an irritating daily occurance also known as work. That is, unless I can become the disiplined student that I was at university.
I was not what is percieved to be a typical university student; not much work, drinking, large social life, and bringing home a huge pile of washing every week. I always did my own washing for a start. I think it helped that the bar on campus was no bigger than the average living room, and contained a pool table, so very little drinking was done. The college was in the middle of nowhere too, so very little in the way of opportunities to develop a social life. So, I spent the majority of my time in the library, usually till gone midnight, researching for my assignments. It all paid off, after 4 years of hard study, I graduated with a 2:1 in Veterinary Nursing. I wanted a first, and my grades were sitting on the borders between a first and 2:1, but they graded me down.
Now, studying at home, there are more distractions, and more excuses to find distractions. I NEED to disipline myself, maybe work on a reward system. "when you've finished that assignment, you can spend 30 minutes on the x Box, and eat a large bar of chocolate."
I will also need to do a lot of studying at work too. Unfortunately, the idea of "finish this assignment, and you can have the rest of the day off," might not sit too well with other people!! I should be able to fit in eating the large bar of chocolate though.
Plus, I can always take notes down to the track with me and work down there, inbetween races anyway. This will also allow time to develop a whole new collection of excuses. Sorry, could not submit essay due to;
1. It blew into the middle of a racetrack and got shredded by 20 fast moving cars.
2. Fire extinguisher went off and covered it in foam
3. holes punched into it by flying gravel
4. Angry driver tore it up
Thats much more interesting than saying "sorry, but the dog ate it". More plausible for me too, I have no dog.
So, I have a timetable, new set of pens, notepaper and a new memory stick to put all of the work on. I think I'm ready for the student life again...

Gemma the human traffic cone...

Ok, so my ideal sunday evening didn't exactly work out. In fact, Monaco was a bit of a wash out really as far as Mclaren are concerned. Lewis started at the back of the grid after hitting the wall during qualifying, then Heikki failed to finish after...hitting the wall. Maybe I could qualify as an F1 driver under these circumstances. I've hit a wall, and that was one that was behind me, not like the 6ft concrete and tyre structures that are blindingly obvious to anyone looking in the right direction (in my defence, the one I hit was 2ft high, and in my blind spot, despite me looking backwards). However, I think mine was a tad cheaper to repair than Heikki's, but at least he doesn't have to pay for it!
However, at Brands this weekend, the Mclarens put on a much better show. James Humts 1976 Mclaren and Fittipaldis car put in a stunning performance, finishing second and third in the F1 race. These cars would have been racing at Brands when they were new, so it was nice to see them driving so well after 30 years.
There was a high quality of racing this weekend from all the cars on the track, but there was a certain amount of common sense lacking from some of the drivers, or one in particular anyway.
Note to drivers:
1. red and yellow flag means slippery surface, so don't drive so fast when there is copious amounts of oil on the track, you will spin off and create more mess and mechanic heartache, they don't have spares of everything you know.
2. If your cars engine has given up and retired, don't park it in the most dangerous spot on the track and expect me to go out there and push you all the way back to the pits. Thats what the 200 yards of grass you rolled past would have been good for. And don't complain about the grass, the green colouring would vastly improve on your current choice of colour; gold.
As it turned out, I only ended up pushing one car, and stopping another one from rolling down the hill whilst the tow truck attached itself to it. I was playing with flags the rest of the time.
Then I was given the job of "the human traffic cone". The plain sort, not the one with the flashing light on top. Someone had to run onto the track, waving a yellow flag and directing the traffic into the pitlane. Unfortunately, the call to do this came through when the cars were half was round the track. Being much younger and fitter than the 2 other marshals on post, I was "nominated" for the task. Its strange how vulnerable you feel standing in the middle of a track whilst the traffic passes by within 2ft of your shins. And of all the cars that went past, the last one to wave and acknowledge me was good old Sterling Moss. Google him if you don't know who that is.
Everyone made it into the pits, and I survived without being hit. Race control called through and said we did a good job. Who knows, maybe I would better suited standing in the middle of the M25, or the M6? I can add that to my CV now; hobbies - human traffic cone. maybe i'll get a light next time.
Overall it was a very good three days. Then I got to work today. Hmmmm....the jury is still out on whether it actually turned into a good day or not. It was very very busy, I was not in the best of moods because of this (and also half deaf due to the weekend), but, everything got sorted in the end with a little help from my friends (just please don't move my animals around, it confuses me!!). Don't get me wrong, I like it busy but it has to be an organised busy, not bank holiday chaos busy. Tomorrow will be organised, I know who I have where and their histories now!! It can only get better really, it has, I've got two weeks of this....

Hoping for some Mclaren magic....

I have been a little bit all over the place this week. I have been on different shifts at work for one reason or another (although maybe there should be a "paperwork" shift given the amount of filing I have done today from vets not emptying their paperwork trays, sorting lab reports etc). My poor little car had to go down to the garage AGAIN, this time to have a new fog light fitted, a stone broke the other one on the motorway. However, this trip was not so bad, given the amount of free coffee they were plying me with. In retrospect, drinking 5 cups of coffee in an hour is not a good thing; trying to take blood from a small puppy, with shaky hands, is not easy!
But, it has been a good week and today the build-up to the best race on the Grand Prix calendar started for me; Monaco. Unfortunately I will be at the race track for 3 days so will end up watching a recording, which means I have to avoid results on tv, radio, other people who love to remind me just how badly my beloved Mclarens are doing etc.
I love the Monaco race. Not just all the glitz and glamour of it (although I wouldn't mind one of the larger boats in the harbour to watch it from) but the circuit itself. It's all on the roads around the city and incredibly challenging. Given that its quite a slow circuit as well means that my little Mclarens might actually have a chance this weekend. Maybe Jenson Button will develop a case of vertigo where he will be unable to climb onto the top of the podium...again.
I really don't know what is going on with them. Last year we were the team to follow (on the track, into the gravel, into the wall etc), but this year we are showing everyone how not to do it. I know we like to race the Reds, but that doesn't mean we have to be going as slow as them! I'm sure the scale lego model Mclaren I have would go faster than they do (yes, I said lego, I really do have a set, 456 pieces to be exact, plus stickers and a steering wheel that moves). The team say its a lack of grip, due to a lack of downforce, and the KERS system is too heavy. (Translations available, free of charge). I say its a sneaky way of getting a good look at the diffuser on the Brawn car (or at the back of any of the other cars, they're all in front of us!), only problem is we can't keep up with them.

If a pokey little team like Brawn GP can win with a budget of 50p, a packet of crayons and a cereal box, then on a budget of x million pounds we should be able to build a car that is relatively competitive. We have wind tunnels, computer design software, so what is the problem? Unless that x million is being spent elsewhere...apparently floating duck islands are all the rage. Personally, I would attach this years car to such an island, sink it and start all over again.

This weekend (and monday) the cars I will be keeping an eye on at the track are old style Grand Prix F1 cars, with gear sticks and round steering wheels. No one was really bothered about aerodynamics then, no onboard computer changing fuel mixtures, it was all about getting your car across the line before anyone else did with pure driving skill. I hope to see plenty of that this weekend anyway.

So, if all goes to plan, on sunday evening I will be sitting down in front of the tv with one of the cats (Rusty loves to watch the racing, I'm sure she's a Mclaren fan too...) and I will finally see my team win this year, hopefully...

Here comes the weekend..

I have been meaning to write my next blog all week so I could update the world on my latest adventures at Brands Hatch, but just haven't got around to it. So, the "classic" cars at the weekend..some of them were all but classic. I'm not quite sure an old ford escort or sierra counts as classic yet. They were boy racers, with big engines, big exhausts which made a lot of noise and then expired after the first lap. Its quite entertaining seeing a car crawl past at 10mph with the driver banging on the steering wheel and bouncing up and down on the seat to make the car go faster. Whats even more entertaining (and also a little scary) is how oblivious some drivers are. On the first lap of the first practice session, there was a small collision on the corner near my post. Both cars pulled off the track, one with a bashed in bumper and the other one...with flames coming from the bottom of the car. He was on fire, big time. I've never had to deal with a fire on the track before, so it was quite exciting to think I would get a good experience here. I grabbed the fire extinguisher, only to see the car pull back onto the track and carry on driving!! Now, I would think that things would be getting a little smoky inside the car, or a least there would be the odd smell of something burning. Thankfully the car pulled off at the next post, about 100 yards up the track. He stopped because the oil light came on. Whilst one marshal put out the blaze, the others pointed him in the direction of his missing oil...300 yards of track behind him covered in it. The driver sauntered back to the garage, presumably to find his mechanic and a few bottles of oil so he could race again in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, there were 3 of us trying to clear up this huge oil slick. I was given a first day trainee to look after, who was also quite thrilled at seeing a car on fire. Together we trawled the track with brooms and cement dust. And that was about as exciting as it got for the whole weekend. There was a white car that entered every race, and only lasted for one lap of each race. Everytime it went past us the car spat out something..drive chain, exhaust pipe, wheel nut, I could have built a car by the end of the weekend if we'd been able to keep the bits, but the driver wanted them back each time.
But it was good to see that not all of the drivers are there to win, its just not possible for them with the cars they drive. There was a little Austin A40, which probaably had a top speed of about 35mph. Everytime he pootled past he would wave, flash his lights, anything to keep from counting how many times he had been lapped, but he was enjoying himself, and he was fun to watch. It's nice to be acknowledged by the drivers (apart from by the ones you've got into trouble), makes you feel appreciated.
Overall it was a good weekend, with good company and nice weather.
Work has been a lot better for me this week too. I've had a lot of laughs with people and quite enjoyed it, and feel that I'm back to my usual happy quiet self. Plus, I have a place on the diploma course I've been applying for. It should take around 2 years to finish, and I start in 3 weeks. I really appreciate the support that I have been offered at work, it means a lot to me and hope they realise what they have let themselves in for!! This could be a very long two years...

Back on track...

Yes, I'm back down the track again this weekend, something a little more sedate I hope, but putting the word "classic" in the title of the race meeting does not always necessarily mean slower. It can mean however that the drivers are likely to be the same age as the car, so the chances of an accident increases exponentially. How many times have you been stuck behind an "older driver" on the road, a few I bet. They do not drive like that on the track I can assure you, and this can make for more accidents.
But, hopefully this weekend will put me back on track in another sense. I have not been the most...cheerful person at work this week, for one reason or another. This can make me rather difficult to work with. I tend to cave in on myself if I have an issue, withdraw from everyone around me, store it all up. This is one new years resolution I have failed to keep; don't bottle it all up. maybe next year instead...
Yes, it was busy tuesday, when is it not after a bank holiday. Quite happy on wednesday. But, something happened on thursday, and I got all worked up about and and ended up blaming myself. The sensible part of my brain knows it was going to happen anyway, but the other half feels that my actions did not help the situation and I was entirely to blame. So, I wasn't exactly thrilled by the prospect of spending today at work. But, as it turned out, I had quite a good day today, the little kestrel that came home with me on thursday went to a rescue centre today, most of my patients went home, and nothing died.
So, from this moment, the past week is in the past, gone, nothing I can do about it so I need to stop beating myself up about what happened, enjoy my weekend at the track, then be back to my usual happy self on monday...(well, I think I'm usually happy anyway!! and funny..)
Oh yes, best wishes to Mrs Pumphrey and I hopes she makes a speedy recovery...

Marshal Law

I had a fantastic time at Brands Hatch at the weekend. I've made a lot of friends up there, and haven't seen many of them since before christmas so it was good to catch up with them, and get back into the swing of being a marshal. No longer the trainee I was last year, but a fully fledged track marshal, and what a way to start, with one of the biggest race meetings of the year, A1GP. If you don't know what that it is, its basically a form of single seater racing, where all of the cars are the same (none of this fancy double diffuser nonsense), and each car is driven by a different country. Whoever goes the fastest and finishes first wins, simple as. Plus all the support races that go along with it, which I won't list, I can already see people dozing off at the keyboard as they read this.
So, being a marshal basically entails ensuring the safety of the drivers and that everyone is following the rules. If only someone had told the drivers this, but onto that in a minute.
First challenge of the day, getting into the little marshals hut at post 6. You'd think one of the 8 of us would figure out how to open a stuck door. Track maintenence had a novel approach; a spade. wedge it in the right place and the door pops open, result!! Netx challenge, check the fire extinguishers, without setting them off. My fellow marshal Richard is very insistant that when he tipped it up, the pin " just fell out". I never realised that the powder in an extinguisher is pink, salmon pink really. by the time powder had stopped spraying everywhere, everywhere was salmon pink; the tyre wall, the inside of the hut, me etc.
Anyway, back to what we really do at the track; driver safety and rule obeying. anyone on here planning to try their hand at racing, please note:
1. You drive on the grey stuff (i.e tarmac), not the gravel or the grass. We tend to get a little house proud of our gravel traps, and we do not appreciate someone putting tyre tracks through the middle of it, it just won't look right afterwards.
2. If you do happen to fall off the track and into the above mentioned gravel, do not sit there and spin the back wheels, makes for a lot of dust and more mess for us to clear up. WE WILL NOT PUSH YOU. so don't even think of sitting there, flapping your arms about, it will not happen.
3. If we ask you to get out of the car, GET OUT OF THE CAR!!". It tends to be for a good reason, i.e your car is broken, time to go and apologise to your mechanics for the extra work you have created for them because, for one reason or another, you just didn't see that wall, despite the fact that you had managed to miss it during the previous 10 laps.
Ensuring driver safety also means that, if you have 2 cars come off at the same time, don't let the drivers beat the living daylights out of each other, no matter how tempting that may be.
And please, follow the rules, we will tell on you if you cut corners, barge other cars etc. Just play nicely.
So, we wave flags, tidy up after drivers who dump gravel, oil etc on the track, pick up bits of cars (hopefully just car bits, not the drivers as well), put out fires, tell race control who did what to who, remember car numbers and have a great deal of fun at the same time.
And I'm doing this every other weekend for the next 4-5 months...I love weekends!!
We ended up with a whole weekend of excellent racing from all the racing classes, thankfully no serious accidents, and well done to Ireland for winning the A1GP overall.

Go Go Go!!!!!!

I was woken up rather rudely this morning by my cat. She decided that I had spent long enough in bed (it had only just gone 10am, which on a sunday I feel is quite an acceptable time to still be in bed) and thought it would be a good idea to tickle my face with her whiskers. She wanted the bed to herself. Begrudgingly, I agreed with her that it was time to get up, as I had enough stuff to do today. Especially as it is a race weekend. When there is a Grand Prix on, everything must fit around those 3 hours.
So, I plodded out into the garden to make a start in things. Opening up the shed revealed a very nasty surprise; a wasp building a nest above the door. Now, as a rule I spend as little time in the shed anyway, knowing the size of the eight legged creatures that live in there, but I needed to root around to find a suitable way to dispatch the wasp. I grabbed the first aerosol can I could find, which happened to be fly filler, and commited waspicide, eventually. It takes a lot of fly killer to kill a wasp.
First thing to do was to sort out the pump in the fish pond, or that was the plan anyway. Unbeknown to me, Our neighbours were setting up a bonfire, with lots of damp grass and wood. When I could no longer see the house from the bottom of the garden due to the copious amounts of smoke pouring over the garden fence, I gave up on the garden and headed back indoors to set myself up for the race, with my laptop.
My brother has found out on many occasions that watching a grand prix with me, when supporting anyone but my beloved Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes can be hazardous to your health. He is a f.., f...f, red car fan, I can't even bring myself to type it, I despise THAT team so much. When I was at University and Schmuck was still driving for them, my house mate (also an avid VMM fan) and I used to gather up all our old course notes, barracade ourselves in the tv room and bombard the tv with paper balls everytime a red car appeared. Now, I can't really get away with that at home, despite my brother working most weekends. My parents don't look favourably on me throwing balls of paper around. However, the next 3 hours are what save me from needing a gym membership. I don't only watch the race, i'm driving every single car on the track, screaming "OVERTAKE HIM!", "GO FASTER!!" "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, BLOCK HIM!!". Everything else can't really be published for public viewing.
All this screaming is accompanied by much arm waving, moving of feet (as mentioned, i'm driving the car!) and general other movements that could be construed by anyone else as me having some sort of fit.
Despite all of this, we only finished 4th and 12th. But, the car is looking better, its getting quicker, soon we'll be back where we belong, on the podium.
However, the excitement doesn't finish there. Its been a British Touring cars weekend too. Lets call this more "contact" racing. Plenty of bumping and bashing, bodywork flying off, cars on and off the track, brilliant stuff!
And next weekend, I'm back at Brands for the first time since october. All I need to do now is survive the next 5 days at work...

catching up...

You take 2 weeks off work, then on your first day back you feel as if you've just started the job for the first time. You swear that all of the equipment is in different places, you have to think twice as hard when setting up surgical kits for certain operations, and when it comes to suturing up something yourself, its takes three times longer than it should because you are mega slow and having to concentrate so hard its painful for anyone watching you. I'm sure a holiday is meant to refresh you, not knock 4 years of training completely from your brain! Just shows how long since I last took a proper break from work!
That pretty much sums up my first 4 days back, retraining myself on my theatre duties. Oh, and having my appraisal at work too. I will admit that this was something I had been dreading for sometime, for one reason or another. I did not sleep very well on wednesday night because that was all I could think about. But it actaully went worryingly well. I am pretty much now in charge of the lab, and Andy and I are working on a grand plan to become masters of cytology (well, he will be, I'll just agree with whatever he says, he's got a book you know) and save the practice lots of money by doing more work in the lab. not sure how well that will go down with the other vets...but will keep the number crunchers happy!
Also, I thought it would be a good idea to write out a to do list today, just so I can make sure i've caught up with everything. Its 23 items long. some of it it the usual weekend jobs like cleaning the car, but others just seem to have accumulated. I'm sure I did half of them before I went away.
Plus, Only 3 weeks till i'm back on the race track. Jump straight in with a big meeting too, the A1GP, plus support races. Back to spending my weekends getting covered in grease, gravel, mud choking on tyre smoke and dealing with angry drivers who swear it was everyone elses fault but theirs that they crashed! I love it, and I can't really think what I would rather spend my weekends doing now i've started this...

back home...

Yep, it all finished at midday on sunday when I landed back at London heathrow, terminal 5. what a fab place that it is, everything is so quick and easy, much better than Los Angeles.
Everything is now unpacked and sitting in various places around my room, and i'm trying to work out exactly where i'm going to put everything.
My lasy blog finished as we were leaving the hostel to go down to long beach and board the cruise ship, and what a cruise it was!! 4 days of fantastic music, dancing, parties, dressing up, etc. and Cabo in mexico was a lovely place, would love to go back there again. Had a nice swim with a dolphin called Frieda, and a cuddle with a jaguar cub. It was a shame we only got to spend a few hours there. The cruise back to LA was a little....bumpy is the word I guess. It felt like a cross channel ferry ride, it was that rough. but we still had the music to keep us going. The last night (heroes and villains night) was the best party I have been to in a long time. John mayer actually DJ'd for the first couple of hours. Also, the fact that not too many people were dressed up made my friend and I very popular, everyone wanted to have their photos taken with us!!
By the time we got back to LA we had kind of worked out what we wanted to do for the rest of the week. That didn't last too long. we made a couple of good friends on the cruise who live not too far away, and they were in LA too so we met up with them a few times. We went back to universal studios again, walked along sunset boulevard, did a bit of shopping.
Now its all over. Back to reality and back to work (big whoop for that, not.) Plus, I still need to watch the first 2 races of the F1 season, and then my first event at Brands Hatch is in 3 weeks, can't wait to start that again!! I hope my orange gear still fits, think a diet might be in order...

Lights, camera, action!!

Yes, made it to the states ok, but have now found out that I really don't like taking off!!
Anyways, the weather has been really nice, about 25 degrees most of the time. checked into the hostel on monday, and its really cool! you get to cook your own pancakes every morning, as many as you want!
Sunday, we jumped on a tourbus and went round to see where all the stars live, really nice places out here!! all up in the hills out of the way. we've walked up and down the walk of fame, its very long and actually involves 2 streets, and theres over 2500 names on it! also went to the riploeys believe it or not museum, some very strange stuff there, but we are in hollywood so thats no surprise!
went to universal studios on monday. the tour of the place is amazing, they drive you through various film sets, on of the best being the plane crash from war of the worlds. the rides are a lot of fun too, but be prepared to get wet. the jurrasic park ride has a 84 ft water drop on it! going back there again next week too.
tuesday, we walked up to the hollywood sign. yes it is a long way up, but worth it for the views of the city.
and yesterday was spent on the beach. Santa Monica beach. had a paddle in the pacific too, nice a cool and relaxing day yesterday. walked along venice beach too.
and today, we check out of the hostel and travel down to long beach, where we are staying on the queen mary for the night, then getting on the cruise ship tomorrow.
you know what, i'm not sure how much more of this i can take....

todays the day!!

Yep, it all happens tonight, I'm spending the night at heathrow, then off to the states tomorrow!! I'm so excited! I popped into work this afternoon to weigh my luggage,which is surprisingly under the weight limit so can bring lots of stuff back with me.
I have checked so many times that I have passport, tickets, hotel bookings, money. i'm still certain that there is something I have forgotten, but its not like i'm going to the middle of nowhere so I'm sure I wil survive without it.
Hopefully next blog will be from the states, telling you how lovely the weather is etc, but have checked what the weather forecast is for the weekend: rain and thunderstorms. How typical is that?
anyways, just printed boarding passes, luggage all tagged, time for the off...

1 weeks time.

This time next week, I will not be sitting in front of a computer blogging away, or waiting to see which friends are on line, oh no. nor will I be all stinky from doing yet another late stint at work. This time next week I will be sitting in a hotel at heathrow airport, getting ready for a saturday morning flight to Los Angeles!! I remember the first time I went abroad, it was to Florida with my brother and parents. This was also the first time I had ever been on a plane, I was 10 or 11 at the time. we were both so excited about getting on a big jumbo jet, that was going to fly really really fast. I have not been on a large plane since. In fact, the last plane I was on I jumped out of, and was much smaller!!
One thing I must remember to pack is a good book. I have nearly finished the autobiography of Lewis Hamilton (much to the amusement of certain friends at work, who still need educating about motorsport. I still think they are only jealous that he is going to marry me one day and we will have more money than they will ever have!)
Its great to read just how some people have got to where they are in life, and most of it through hard work. I am not a great believer in luck, you have to earn where you get to. I would not have the great career I have today if i hadn't worked hard for it. Ok, Lewis had the backing of a great team from an early age, but he had to work hard to achieve that, and look at where that has got him, world champion.
I'm looking at taking the biography of one of the all time great Mclaren drivers, and a hero of mine, Ayrton Senna. Its quite a large book, should do for the flights anyway! A tragedy that such a life was cut short, when he still had so much to give to the sport.
Anyway, I also need to set up surveillence in my front garden. Rumour has it that a terrorist hit squad is coming to steal the dirt from my front garden. Armed with 4 ninja chickens to dig the dirt into sacks, they intend to hijack said dirt away under the cover of darkness. They'll be in for a surprise...

inspirations and aspirations...

ok, we all reach a point where we wish we could change certain aspects of our lives. For me, there are some parts I would not change for the world; I love my job to pieces, it gives me a great deal of satisfaction, even though the outcome is not always what we want. Of course being a racing driver would be good fun too, and I hope one day that this will be one of those dreams that comes true, but that will have to fit around work (something will have to fund my racing drivers lifestyle!)
However, sometimes I feel that where I work would be one of those things that I change. Don't get me wrong, I have some fantastic colleagues there who help and support me whatever the situation, but sometimes I feel that maybe i'm due a change. Various events have occurred recently in my life that, if things work out gradually, may require me to make that change. I'm not talking about next week, next month or even next year, but it may happen, sometime in the future.
I have just watched the latest episode of "Grand designs" on the TV, and now the aspiration of building my own place to my own design is greater than ever! If it is possible to build a house by having 18 credit cards, I'm up for the challenge of trying this! I already have visions in my mind, but I don't seem to be able to get any further than my garage with the collection of Mercedes sports cars, and the fish pond filled with koi carp. Oh yes, and my caterham 7 racing car.
Oh well, we can all dream....

getting organised...

Finally, things are starting to come together. The headache that was the 4th and final party outfit, the heroes and villains theme, has been purchased from ebay. I have lists everywhere of bits I need to do, small things like print out the plane tickets etc. I keep looking at my suitcase, courtesy of one of my brothers friends (in exchange for some race tickets) wondering if i'm actually going to fit everything into it. but I actually feel like I have got everything planned out.
Thats one thing I pride myself on, my ability to organise. my organisational skills may conflict with those of the people around me sometimes, but as long as I achieve what I set out to do, i'm happy. However, whether it be a fully ticked operating board at work or a complete blitz of the garden, I cannot be organised without my to-do list. I am a firm believer that everyone should have one of these. Not necessarily all high tech, I find that a piece of lined paper will suffice, but university taught me that if you write down what you need to do, and keep adding to it, there is a greater impetus to get things crossed off of it.
Only problem is, where did I leave the list....oh well,
1. Find to do list...

13 days...

ok, this is the first time I have ever tried anything like this. I was no good at creative writing at school, in fact I struggle to write down stuff at the best of times, fact or fiction. but having been told several times that writing is very relaxing and cathartic, I thought, why not, give it go.
I am a petrolhead, love cars to bits, especially the very fast ones. hence the title of this blog. when the F1 motorsport season starts up again, in 3 weeks time, I can guarantee that I will have plenty to write about, and not all of it good! but until then, I'll have to find something else to fill the space with. namely, my holiday thats creeping up at an alarming rate.
6th June 2008 I got a text from a good friend of mine:
"Fancy going on holiday with John Mayer?"
5 days, on a cruise ship, with John Mayer (oh, and the 3000 other people that are going). Only my friend could find a holiday that good, and she's asked me to go with her!! The reply was almost instant
"why not?"
So she booked it all up. and if you're going halfway round the world, might as well make it a longer holiday. so we will be in the good ol' USA for 2 weeks, with a 5 day cruise in the middle.
now, with 13 days till we leave, I now realise just how disorganised I am. all the major bits are sorted like flights, hotels and ESTA's, but its everything else I need to sort out.
This afternoon was spent in Canterbury looking for attire suitable for 4 themed parties on the ship. got two sorted, have plans for number three up in london, but the last one is giving me a bit of a headache- a heroes and villains party. There is too much choice! Think I need to pay Ebay a visit...
Then theres everything else i'm going to need, i've never had to pack for such a long holiday before, think I need to make out a list...
I have actually been counting down to this holiday for about the past six weeks. recent (and some past) events have made me focus on this holiday more than anything. I need this holiday, to escape, just for a little while, to try and sort out a few things in my mind (although various things, such as alcohol, dancing etc may impede this...)
Of course the worst part of any holiday is coming back, and what you are coming back to (and i'm not just talking about the varied British weather). I mean coming back and trying to resume "normal" life when you've just had 2 weeks of doing what you want, when you want to and not having to answer to anyone about anything.
Maybe I should start planning the next one...