I am still convalescing after the surgery that I had early March. Right now I am laying in bed, typing on my Bluetooth keyboard, looking at a small-ish plasma screen on the wall. Very comfortable! I am listening to a cool online radio station.
Bad Picture of my sister
with short hair
My sister came to visit, rather unexpectedly. She called me out of the blue a few days ago and said she’d booked a ticked to London with British Airways.

Although it was great to see her, I had been looking forward to for once experiencing that rare and illusive state; Solitude. I was going to work on this blogging project which hasn’t quite taken off yet. I was also going to rest in order to recover from the surgery. Not so with Charlotte turning up to stay with me for five days in my studio though!

My place is comparatively small. With two people there is no privacy… Charlotte is so wonderfully sweet, considerate and funny though. It is impossible to be irritated at her for spoiling my plans! She was also so keen to see me that I was touched.
Typical London Scene.. (Regent Street)
Right now she is rummaging central London, shopping for lord-knows-what. She loves doing that kind of thing though; even going to Oxford Street…. She sees the good sides of London, not the bad. For anyone from Scandinavia, London is the shopping paradise on Earth, just two hours flight away…

Charlotte wanted to find Chinatown and Soho, two interesting areas in central London. So I tried to explain how to get to Gerrard Street which is the most obviously Chinese street. People don’t tend to be able to find these areas very easily as they are a bit hidden away from the main shopping streaks. In Chinatown you suddenly find yourself surrounded by Chinese people and signs. As for Soho, you know you are there when every other shop is a sex shop! I used to go there a lot because London’s best fabric shops are in that area.

I have been poorly while Charlotte’s been here though, meaning we haven’t been able to ‘do’ something together like she wanted. But I am off work following the surgery, and actually on the strongest antibiotics available as well as about a ton of painkillers. So I can hardly go partying or whatever it is that she fancies doing! (Today might be a good day for going out as it is St Patrick’s day)

Well, Charlotte should have called me before she booked her ticket, not afterwards! Or am I being horrrible? Everybody pulls this particular trick on me, giving me no choice but tell them they are welcome to stay, since it is already clear they’ll be in London! Imagine the cheekiness! Personally I ask first and book my ticket after I’ve confirmed that it suits the person I plan to stay with. I feel guilty about not being keen on Charlie being here though. I have got the sweetest sister in the world! So what if I had other plans, she is my sister! Pull yourself together Cordelia!
Always crowded on Oxford Street! I avoid it.
Good to see Charlotte on such good form after she was ill for quite a long time during the autumn. She found her way to Stanfords’ on Long Acre (that’s the best travel book shop in London). There she bought about 10 travel diaries; very intersting books. She got auto-biographies by women who married a Masai warrior, a Saudi royal etc. Charlie definitely has a thing for Africa; most of her books are about that. I haven’t been there yet, but Charlotte worked as a nurse there for almost a year.

Charlotte bought lots of new clothes at Long Tall Sally among other places. My sister and I are quite tall; 5′10 or 178cm. We have different builds though; I am more slender and she is more robustly built. Her hands and feet are much larger than mine to her great irritation. But she has the prettier face I think. Her eyes are very large and beautiful. She’s got a Julia Roberts’ mouth. I just look like your average Swedish woman and have inset, almost asiatic looking eyes.
London’s Chinatown: Can be hard to find in daylight!
On Monday I have to be back at work. I’ll tell you more about that when I know what it is like. At the moment I am in a weird situation; they are paying me for doing a very simple project which someone else mainly manages anyway. Basically they are not utilising my skills and experience, despite paying me for it. I’ll enjoy this state of affairs as long as it lasts, however the fact that I am new at that job makes me conscious of how useful I am, and what I actually achieve on a daily basis.

Work feels pointless right now; I do that awful one hour+ commute in both directions; but for what! I am not even doing anything important right now! The project I ought to be managing is run by my colleague Robert. Nevertheless I feel a bit ‘guilty’ about having been away from work for the surgery. As if I ought to turn up just to show a presence. (I.e. Cordelia was there, so she must be doing something useful…) Oh the weird and wacky world of corporate life. I’ve got to sort out my company benefits plan; right now they appear to be chopping for £200 a month for some benefit that I have never said that I want.

The weather is good right now; if I am up for it I might go out later on today. Lex just called; a guy who’s been interested in me for circa 4 years. I like him lots but I don’t want him as a boyfriend. It’s hard to know how to handle that.
Popular shopping street in Stockholm-Less people!
I have been discussing the possibility of moving back to Stockholm with Charlotte. Stockholm (my hometown in Sweden) really is superior to London in most ways, although it is much smaller of course (1/8!). I have bad memories from there though; related to my crazy upbringing. It would require a bit of psychological strength to move back there; back to the place where I was so hurt… In London I don’t have to think about it.

I am also secretly thinking of Canada, Alaska (I am a snow-lover!) or the United States proper. It seems awfully complicated to move the US though; the whole work permit/”green card” thing puts me off. Alaska attracts me the most; the final frontier… It is clear to me that I need to get away from London at any rate. I don’t fit in here… I’ll be writing more about that later.

Technorati Tags: london, sister,
convalescence