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...