Friday 8th August 2003, 12:37pm

Week 24, Day 136

I have a rather embarassing, yet amusing I'm sure you'll find, story I must tell before I get on about my events in the last five days.

It all revolves around a kettle. Dave informed Amit and I a few weeks back to avoid using the kettle as it seemed to be over-heating, and hence, was rather unsafe. I told him I would get one cheap from the markets. So of I went and made a quick purchase of a £5 kettle. I even opened the box to check the kettle was there, out of fear of being scammed. Upon bringing it home and opening it up I felt a sense of grief when I realised the actual cable part was missing, as I had not lifted the kettle right out to see if it was there. I felt even more ridiculous as Dave had warned me about being scammed by market sales people.

Turns out Amit saw the same kettle at Morrisons (local supermarket) for £8 so I swallowed my pride and bought it the next time I went. When I got it home I opened it up and discovered it too was missing the connection cable. And then it dawned on me (Nikki, I feel the line "she realised too late" fits in perfectly) to look INSIDE the kettle. Lo and behold, that is where the cord was. And also in the one that I bought at the market. Look who feels stupid now!! At least we have a back up I guess.

I think the best way to follow on from that rather pathetic event in my life is to say that my motivation seems to be back again. Dave and I have been heading for the gym in the mornings so I think that helps me get into the mood and face the day. I am also beginning to get used to the long days and short sleep, for as most of you know, I am an early riser and no matter how late I go to bed, it is difficult for me not to wake up at the wee hours of the morning.

I think the weekend off really revived me and I had a great two normal 9-5 shifts on Monday and Tuesday. As I've settled into the team now, I think I'm beginning to slip into manager mode already and picking up on what needs improving and subtling nudging people in the right direction and doing their job properly. I also won a few brownie points with making Rabanadas (most of you have tasted these, they're those Portuguese French toast dessert things) using left over bread from the restaurant, which Andy (my manager) thought would be a good idea for us to sell at the new restaurant when we open it. Monday saw us go for drinks as Andy is on holidays and was in party mode. Poor Les (my co-training assistant manager) who wasn't supposed to go out at all, came along and stuck with the party until 2am! He was not looking good early next morning. Wednesday was a bit of a shit to put it simply. After a good work out at the gym with my one-pn-one session with a personal trainer, and then finally opening up my bank account (woohoo!!), I headed in to work for the late shift. It sucked as I was back on the front grill due to being short staffed, and didn't get home until almost 1am.

Yesterday was my day off for this week. I spent it shopping for food at the markets (and feeling well chuffed as I saved quite a bit of money on groceries) and cleaning the house top to bottom. Dave's father popped in to drop off some furniture we weren't able to bring ourselves, and I sat with him for 30mins talking about nothing in particular. Though Dave thinks him strange, and he can be at times, he really is a sweetheart and I enjoyed his company. After Dave returned from work, we went to his friend Tonk's house (a fellow caver) for a BBQ. Though a grown man and a father of two adorable girls, he (and all the other cavers) have this fascination to pump up a bottle half filled with water until it launches like a rocket into the air, and laugh at how it takes flight and where it lands. The extension of this activity is to put balls and other items on top of the bottle, so they too are propelled into the air. I must say, that while it is a childish thing to do, it is rather amusing.

Today really put me in good spirits. I had a phonecall from Andy yesterday asking if I wanted to sit in on the initial briefing for the Castleford Nando's restaurant in Manchester. So we went early this morning. I didn't see much of the famed city, except for its centre, but look forward to going back and doing the touristy thing properly! The meeting was very interesting for me and got me excited about the plans for the restaurant and the fact I'm going to be a big part of it. It's a little scary as there is a lot of organising to do, but hey, you all know that's what I love to do! We got back around 1pm, and no one realised I was meant to be on shift, so after lunch, Gordon (the main manager of Leeds) told me I could read up on things or do some 'homework'. Les and I decided to sit down as I went through what happened at the meeting and then we worked on marketing ploys, and ideas for the restaurant. Me very excited now!!

To put me in even better spirits (literally), I attended my first yoga session of the year and am proud to say I haven't lost the knack of it. I feel very serene and tranquil at the moment, and hope that nothing will disturb my equilibrium. Am pumping myself up (again, literally) for Body Pump class tomorrow morning. Time to work those muscles me thinks!

My top 10 for this week...

1. Castleford Restaurant - it's about 7 weeks away, but can't wait to see how it develops.
2. Pot Bellied English Girls - don't think it's a stereotype kiddos, that English girls walk around with midriffs and their bellies hanging over their trousers, because it's not just the backpackers around Oz that do so. I'm disgusted to say that you see them everywhere here! As per my No.2 from my last week's top 10, that is one very big Faux Jamais!
3. "Shadow of the Hegemon" by Orson Scott Card - still at No.3 and only 20 pages to go.
4. Nando's Chicken Wings - the best thing on the menu.
5. Feeling Guilty - for not replying to all my emails yet. It feels as though I'm in contact with no one at the moment... but that will change soon. I swear. No, really.
6. English Heatwave - It's still going... ah, bless!
7. A clean house - Though I clean all the time at the restaurant, I take more satisfaction from walking into the house and finding it clean due to my efforts.
8. Waxing - Painful as it may be, my eyebrows have never looked so good.
9. Cooking - you know this is always going to be on the list! This week's specialties included Individual Lemon Cheesecakes, Lime Meringue Pie, some sort of puff pastry, raisin and golden syrup pudding concoction I made up, Spanish Meatballs and Butternut Squash Risotto (tastes better the next day, just like pizza and lasagne!).
10. Money - Thinking I've almost run out and then checking online to see that there's still some there. Also, it dawned on me how much I'll be earning on a monthly basis in comparison to my spending, and I feel the urge to go shopping now ;)

x
Vanessa

PS: A big happy birthday to the following who have had/will be having theirs in the next few days and I haven't passed my wishes onto...yet - Nikki Samra, Sonya Martins, Bec Sharman, Jessica Lamond, Rachel Evans and Melissa Hartley. (That so felt like I was reading names out the front of a school assembly!!)