tantilizing tidbits for tan

- during our first drinks date, londoner would sneak kisses on my neck and cheek; he also held my hand and kissed my palm (which i find so unbelievably sexy - it made me melt);

- our first proper date consisted mostly of us walking around in the rain and talking (after a lovely dinner at a tapas restaurant of course); we stood in the park and then stood outside the gate to my flat for hours, just kissing and chatting away;

- the kitchen wasn't the only room in the flat that heated up when he came over to cook me dinner...all i will say is mmmmmhmmmmm...

CET :o)

i tham thuffed up

the rain hasn't stopped since saturday.

my sore throat from all last week has now turned into a head cold.

my nose is stuffed up.

revision is slow-going. what else is new?

i still don't have a job for the summer.

i am so ready to go home.

CET :oS

the karmic door swings wide

you know that saying, "when one door closes another door opens?" well, that's what happened to me last week.

it was a thursday when i asked coffee shop hottie out and he said no; two days later on saturday night, i found myself at a bar on brick lane with vij and a friend of hers who was visiting from canada, and wanted a taste of the london nightlife. vij and i had never been to this bar before but have passed by it enough times to know that it was a pretty hip and happening place, so we decided to check it out that evening.

the dj was spinning some really wicked tracks, mostly funk and jazz from the 70's. vij and i were cuttin' a rug on the dance floor, right by the dj booth, when a rather tall man with a funky afro (think tamed-down version of sideshow bob) reached behind me to get his drink, which he had left on the dj table. i moved out of his way and after he had left vij commented that he was "totally checking me out."

now, CET is always COMPLETELY oblivious to the attention of others; i was just happily dancing away and didn't really notice the men in the room. anyhoo, so i spot the guy a distance away (he had left the dance floor) and although i can't see his face clearly, i know he is looking at me and i am looking at him. when vij and i walked off the dance floor to get a drink, he brushed my arm and we started talking. being a bar/club it was quite loud, so he suggested we move to the corridor to chat.

hmmm, what shall be his blog name? well after the canadian guys (first, french-canadian and third), office boy and scottish guy, i suppose i can call this one "the londoner", as he was born and raised here. not too original i know but tough!

so, we're in the corridor and the chatting is easy; for some reason i felt completely at ease with him and if there's something to be said for intuition, mine told me that he wasn't slimey and was in fact quite genuine. don't worry though, my guard was still up a little (i'm not THAT naive). he asked for my number and then he asked for a kiss (which i thought was nice); THANK GOODNESS he was a great kisser! if i had another bad kiss after scottish guy i think i would have slapped him. he had to leave as it was his friend's birthday and they were bar-hopping; he said he'd call me the next day.

sure enough, on sunday he rang. we chatted briefly before he asked me for a date; we arranged to meet that wednesday. monday night on my way home from work he texts me; he's in my neighbourhood meeting clients and would like to know if i'm free for a quick drink. so we meet for a drink on the monday, followed by our first proper date on the wednesday, then he came over to cook me dinner while i studied this past saturday. three dates in one week! and i should be studying for exams!

i don't think i want to get into all the details because for once (in a long time) i genuinely like this guy and feel quite a connection with him. he's open and honest like me - tactless too which i find funny - cerebral, affectionate and sweet. he's also quite a hopeless romantic which draws my ire at times because i am not, but i like the fact that we're such opposites in so many ways. he knows i'm leaving london for the summer in about three weeks' time, and he knows i have to buckle down and study, but even a girl needs a break from her books every now and then, and he'll be there ready with a kiss and smile and dinner!

CET :o)

p.s. absolutely NO comments about how he's "the one" or crap like that, as i do not believe in "the one" and have actually been planning a post on the subject for quite some time; stuff like that just makes me want to puke. thanks!

rant

so i just came out of a lecture today given by a VP of a prominent pharmaceutical company. he was suppose to speak to us about regulatory affairs but instead ended up sounding like a careers counsellor, oh, and not to mention a mouthpiece for all that's great and wonderful about the pharmaceutical industry.

he asked if there were any questions halfway through the lecture and so i asked why pharmaceutical companies, for all their profits and resources, are not doing more to make medicines available to those who desparately need it, e.g. developing countries in which people can barely afford to survive, let alone have access to and pay for AIDS retroviral medication. of course he answered with how these pharma companies have already done so much and that even if we make billions of dollars in profit, we have to pay a lot of taxes and bills, the cost of the research to bring drugs onto the market, be accountable to our shareholders, blah, blah, blah, etc.; in short, he did not answer my question. while i do see his point, and while i am not so naive as to not realize that at the end of the day a pharmaceutical company is a business, i just don't think he should be taking the complacent approach by saying "look, we've already done so much, we don't need to do more." if you've done so much then why are diseases like AIDS getting worse instead of better? while you distribute medicines to countries all over the world, why are the majority of the medicines headed for countries that can actually afford them? i know it's not all the pharmaceutical companies' fault; many governments (including canada) have promised medicines to developing countries only to deliver a miniscule amount if at all; i also know that education and prevention is as important, if not more so, in bringing about a reduction in the number of cases of AIDS. i just don't believe these companies are doing enough to improve the situation.

i know, i know, can they ever do enough? what is enough, when no one ever has to die from AIDS? i know this is the type of argument that could go on forever, but the way he was going on about the pharmaceutical industry you'd think it was the best thing since the invention of the wheel.

and i hate how it always comes down to money; look how much you can make if you were in industry, look how much you'd get in bonuses if you went onto become a lawyer representing patients or even the pharma companies themselves; you could practically see the dollar signs popping out of everyone's eyes. it made me sad.

and no, i don't think i'm morally superior than everyone else in the room and yes, of course people want to be paid well for what they do and i am no exception; while i know perhaps i can be too idealistic at times, i don't think it's "too idealistic" of me to expect more accountability and more action from the very companies that have the means and resources to invoke real change and improvement in the health of the world.

CET :o(

can't fault me for trying

so folks, the story ends here:

i asked coffee shop hottie out today and guess what? he has a girlfriend.

bummer.

it's a rainy afternoon here in londontown (why do people always start stories with a comment on the weather?); after a stressful morning dealing with idiots in my drug delivery lab, i went to the coffee shop to have a cup of tea and unwind. now, i already knew i'd pop by the coffee shop today, and if the opportunity arose i would ask coffee shop hottie out; due to having dinner with evil hypnotist and friends last night, who egged me on and provided advice on how to ask a guy out, i was buoyed with courage and confidence and dammit, CET was on a mission. i dressed up a bit nicer than normal and even put on makeup - yes, makeup! - as today would be the day!

i didn't bring an umbrella today (figures) so by the time i got to the coffee shop, CET was a little less cute-looking than normal. well, just a bit damp around the edges. it was busy when i arrived and so at first i just said hello and ordered my pot of tea. i found an empty corner and proceeded to read my book and sit tight, waiting for my moment. sure enough within twenty minutes the coffee shop became all but deserted; coffee shop hottie was downstairs putting away some recently-arrived stock and i thought to myself "okay, this is IT! go downstairs and ask him out!"

CET got up from her seat.


CET sat down.


CET got up again and took a step away from her seat.


CET sat back down.


CET thought "okay, you're being an idiot," and got up again.


CET sat back down.


my heart was racing a mile a minute and my throat felt constricted; where had all my built-up courage gone? i thought "oh fuck it, CET JUST DO IT ALREADY!" and got up from my seat and opened the door to the basement before my courage dissipated. the washroom was downstairs as well, so it wasn't out of place for me to be going down the very narrow steps; coffee shop hottie had put away the produce and was at the bottom of the stairs about to head up. we each said hello and he waited at the bottom of the steps for me to clear them before he made his way up:

CET: "hi...um...this might seem a bit weird, but would you like to go out for dinner sometime?"

i'm pretty sure that was the last thing coffee shop hottie was expecting to come from my mouth. the second the last word left my lips though, i knew his answer would be no; his face said it all. it was a spontaneous mixture of shock, happiness, flattery and sadness all at the same time.

at first he couldn't find the words, but then he said "i'd love to but...i have a girlfriend."

CET: "dammit!" (and then a giggle of nervousness and relief)

CSH: "i'm sorry!"

CET: "that's okay, i'm glad i at least tried. what can i say? you're cute."

CSH (blushing): "aw thanks. it was very brave of you to ask though, and i do enjoy seeing you at the coffee shop."

CET: "thanks. see you upstairs," at which point i made a beeline for the bathroom.

sigh.

in the bathroom i let out a burst of laughter, mostly because i couldn't believe i had done it! it was mixed with relief too, because now i have my answer and i don't have to pine or speculate anymore. i can go to the coffee shop now and say hi and make idle chit chat, knowing where i stand and knowing that i tried.

i must say though that it would've been nice to gaze into his deep, brown eyes up close and personal, rather than through the steam of a cup of tea...

CET :o)

junior doctor

i've discovered a new blog; it's the diary of a junior doctor working in a hospital somewhere in england for the NHS:

www.thejuniordoctor.blogspot.com

he sounds like the kind of doctor you'd want to treat you: intelligent, knows his stuff, does his job well, but most of all he's compassionate and kind to his patients.

i think i'm a little smitten!

CET :o)

p.s. i've just finished reading the book "bloodletting and miraculous cures" by dr. vincent lam - a collection of short stories connected by the lives of a group of doctors - the book started off a bit slow, but picked up pace, interest and intensity and by the end of it i couldn't put it down until i was done reading. i won't give it away, but there was one story where it was so intense that my heart was racing as i read it; at the end of the story i had to put the book down and compose myself, letting my heart rate return to normal, before picking it up again.

p.p.s. being a student in the field of pharmacy and learning about medicines get me all excited about one day being able to helping people in such an immediate and tangible way.

Activities in Pictures

cabaret mechanical theatre workshop at kinetica:

i went to the workshop with a classmate where we created our own automata. here are some pics of the artists' work - the first one is by paul spooner and the second one is by keith newstead - followed by my creation (don't laugh)...







it's suppose to be a man on a unicycle wheeling across a tightrope, only there's no tightrope. here's a pic of the mechanics:



day trip to bath and bristol:

on sunday vij, gabby, gabby's boyfriend and i rented a car and drove to bath to "take in the waters" at the newly-opened thermae bath spa, located in the centre of town close to where the old roman baths are. on our way there from the parking lot we came across a "continental" festival showcasing lots of good food and wine from france. here are some pics:



mmm, garlic...



mmm, meat...



mmm, cheese...

at the tourist shop in the centre of town i came across this gem:





wise words indeed...

here is a pic of the rooftop pool, complete with jacuzzi section, waterfall section and breathtaking views of the city:



it was gorgeous, soaking in the heated spring waters saturated with minerals, while all around you was city and sky. it was pretty cheap too, 20 quid for two hours and you also had access to an indoor pool, steam room, shower room and foot spa. loved it.

this is a pic from the car on our way to bristol for dinner:



colourfully painted buildings by the harbourfront:



a bar/restaurant area full of trashy locals :o)