2015 - The readings

Another year, another look back at my readings.

1. Dracula, Bram Stoker ****
2. Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote ***
3. The guest cat, Takashi Hiraide *
4. A dance with dragons: Part 2, George R.R. Martin ****
5. Three one-act plays, Woody Allen ***
6. If I die in a combat zone, Tim O'Brien ****
7. Livro, José Luis Peixoto ***
8. A blink of the screen, Terry Pratchett ***
9. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank redemption, Stephen King *****
10. Still Alice, Lisa Genova, ***
11. The humans, Matt Haig ***
12. O turno, Luigi Pirandello ***
13. The particular sadness of lemon cake, Aimee Bender **
14. Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone, J.K. Rowling ****
15. Inferno, Dan Brown ****
16. A lâmpada de Aladino, Luis Sepulveda **
17. Lord of the flies, William Golding ****
18. De amor e de sombra, Isabel Allende ***
19. Fantastic Mr Fox, Roald Dahl ***
20. To kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee ****
21. Papertowns, John Green *****
22. Metade maior, Julieta Monginho ***

Thankful Thursday # 19

Wow, I can't believe another week has flown by! Here's what we have for today:

1. My boyfriend; my love, my rock, my shelter, my own cheerleader, always boosting me on.
2. My secret Santa. I got a gorgeous owl mug and delicious caramelly chocolates - nice going, Santa! I'm also very pleased to see Santa did well with the rest of my co-workers, so I'm happy everyone is happy with what they got!
3. Spotify. How have I lived my life without this for so long??? Also, getting Spotify for 3 months for £0.99? Yes, thank you!
4. Christmas lights. I am genuinely happy when I get my music on, a candle perfuming the room and the Christmas tree all lit up. Bliss!
5. My gym membership. Today there was a lady at my gym who was absolutely over the moon about being in a gym (this was at 7am, mind you) and it made me think about how that thing that I so often despise is actually a privilege. How fortunate I am to have easy access to a great gym!
6. Christmas cards. I'm so going local on this! I now love giving out Christmas cards and displaying them proudly around our flat. Yay! 

Thankful Thursday # 18

Another week, another gratitude exercise! Here we go!

1. My boyfriend, the person behind all my successes, my shelter when the storm hits, my home wherever I am.
2. My co-workers. I have been under a lot of stress and today I did something I try my best to avoid - I asked for help. And help came by the handfuls. Today my colleagues did me proud of being a team.
3. My steaming chai. Just what I needed to calm the mind after a big day.
4. Spotify. Because listening to Disney classics while you work is awesome!
5. Christmas! I think because I tried to delay giving into the Christmas frenzy (it is not okay to obsess about it in October!!) I am really enjoying now.
6. My new backpack. Comfy, spacious, waterproof and drop dead gorgeous! Making me look good on my way to work!
7. Having a wonderfully comfortable bed. Never underestimate the appeal and luxury of a nice bed. I've grown to love mine to an insurmountable extent.

Thankful Thursday # 17

Good morning, everyone! I'm a little bit upset with myself that I haven't been around as much, but other things got in the way, and then there's Christmas just ahead, so... you know how it is! Onwards with our first December Thursday!

1. My boyfriend (the man is a saint!)
2. My job. Christmas at my job is taken VERY seriously, and that makes me very happy all December long. Also, loving the people you work with does help!
3. My handmade smoked sandwich - yum!
4. Christmas projects! Knitting, stitching and cross stitching aplenty! It's just a shame that I always leave it so late in the year, so it's going to be a mad month!
5. Things that go wrong but make a funny story (like the fire alarm going off at the gym when I was in the middle of my morning shower).
6. Having most of my Christmas shopping done. I find that buying the perfect present when you find it (even if it's in August and you're on a beach holiday) makes the job a lot easier and you get much happier with what you picked because it wasn't a forced decision.
7. Secret Santa. We always do Secret Santa at work, and this year I found something months ago that I thought would be a great crowd pleaser, but it would be particularly awesome if it went to a specific person. And I pulled that person's name out of the hat! So yay! Really pleased!
8. Having lunch at the Christmas market on a workday. At least once a week it's nice to unwind from your shift by going on a stroll and seeing all the Christmas stalls.
9. Easy iron trousers - can I get a Hallelujah?
10. My boyfriend. Because it's never to much to underline how grateful I am that he's in my life.

Thankful Thursday # 16

Here we are again, ready for this week's final boost!

1. My partner. Throughout the last few years my boyfriend has put up with a lot of craziness and weirdness from my side and yet when I wake up every morning he is still there! I love him to pieces and I'm really grateful to have him by my side.
2. Netflix. Watch it anytime, anywhere. Yesterday I was feeling in the mood for Ratatouille, so I watched it all around the house, every new device picking up where I paused it last. I mean, why do I even leave the house?
3. Pretty lanyards. I found I keep changing mine constantly because I'm spoilt for choice. And they're perfect if you need a little pickme up and don't want to spend too much money.
4. My lunch. Vegetable yakisoba, anyone?
5. Chocolate free days. Yes, I've decided to cut down before the Christmas craziness settles in. I shall order in my diet, I say!
6. Going to work. I lead a blessed life; I have a decent commute every day, not too long, but lenthy enough to justify breaking up the books! I like my short stroll from the bus stop to work, just enough to wake up and to listen to my favourite podcasts. And then there's...
7. Work. I love my job and most of all I love the people I work with. And that makes all the difference to my day.

The season that never was

As I've grown older I've learned to appreciate and enjoy the seasons in an leisurely manner, without rushing from Summer straight into Christmas and from New Years straight into Spring. Because in the end we see too few of them; why rush?

So it saddens me to see Autumn so neglected. Everywhere I look there's this obsession, this urge to jump straight into Christmas. Too often I catch people around me saying things like "Oh, isn't it funny how fast Christmas has crept up on us this year?" and... well... that's because it hasn't! It is not Christmas yet, it's not even December, for crying out loud!

Don't get me wrong, I am a self-professed Christmas fanatic. Truly! But that's during December, when it's reasonable to welcome to Christmas cheer. Up until then I love my Autumn. Here's why:

1. The crunch of freshly fallen leaves
2. The start of the school year helps reaffirm my yearly resolutions and make up for the lazy months of Summer
3. Cosy nights in
4. Long sleeves and snuggly socks
5. Lovely seasonal produce, such as butternut squash to roast in the oven, or apple to make lovely spiced cider with!
6. Conkers!
7. Thinking of new craftsy projects - knitting season!
8. New seasons start, so you can welcome your favourite shows after the summer break

And that's just to name a few! 

Autumn is a lovely, charming season and it's a shame people don't cherish it as much as they can. We celebrate Spring with it's sunnier weather and blossoming everydamnwhere, we cry for joy at the coming of Summer with its barbecues and longer, warmer days, we cheer for Christmas and the dream of a Winter wonderland!

But what about the season that we never allow it to be?

Thankful Thursday # 15

So another week has flown by! I have started looking into way of rewiring my brain to help me overcome the effects of things I've lived through when I was little, and I'm glad to see this has been a healthy habit I have maintained on a fairly regular basis for about two years. One small step done, a bazillion left to tread! But, anyway, here we go:

1. My boyfriend. Through thick and (very, very) thin he has stayed by my side, rooting for me, even when that meant rooting against me and my bad habits. My boyfriend is my hero, and I can only vow to do my hardest to make up for the time I didn't listen or didn't show I was committed enough.
2. Sunny days - can I get a hallelujah? It's been so gloomy for so long it really makes you appreciate the sunshine. Happy days!
3. Leftover lunches - saving me money and fuss on most workdays.
4. Recognition - today I'm going to be presented with an award for my hard work at my job. I have never expected this and I've done the work with a smile on my face because I believe in it. It is wonderful to be fed tea and cake for it too!
5. My book. I'm currently reading The Marshmallow Test that I grabbed from my local bookstore by chance and on a bit of a whim and it has been a godsend. It has marked the start of what I believe to be a very long but fulfilling and successful journey to recovery from things I thought I had no other choice but to learn to live with. 
6. My co-workers. They make the day so much better and the job so much easier. 
7. Apple and peanut butter. This I have found is the perfect pre-gym snack; it fills you up just enough, there's no carbs to make you feel full and sleepy, and you get a jolt of energy from the peanut butter that propels you to work out harder. Mind you, you can't dip very slice of apple in the peanut butter, but it is still deeply satisfying and it does feel like a treat (that you will quickly burn away like it never happened!)
8. One bus commute. I have had jobs where I had to take a multitude of buses or a combo or buses and trains to get to work, and it's not fun. So I'm thrilled my bus now stops right at our doorstep!
9. My boyfriend. Because I'm so grateful I should mention it again. My boyfriend is the best person I've ever met.
10. Change. Now that I can see that it's possible, I'm getting some of that! And I can't wait to incorporate healthier habits in my life and kick my traumas out of the driving seat.

Thankful Thursday # 14

So here we are again! Full of hope and promise, trying to revive this space and rekindling healthy habits. Here's what I am grateful for today:

1. Today I buckled up and went to the gym (for the fourth time this week) even though I was feeling like roadkill this morning
2. Autumn - fallen leaves, long sleeves, hot beverages - it's a magical season!
3. My Harry Potter pyjamas and how particularly comforting they feel when you get home from a rainy commute.
4. Butternut squash is in season and there's loads of yummy recipes to try.
5. I love the people I work with that make the job so much fun.
6. Tomorrow after work I have tickets for Jesus Christ Superstar with a great mate.
7. Journaling: I'm really getting into it and I hope it's a practice I can incorporate into my routine.
8. Hot lemon tea!
9. My (extended) family and all the support they've given us while being so far away.
10. I have the best person by my side and I pray that I never take him for granted.

Don't you just love Thursdays?

Savour the season

Growing up in Portugal means you live for Summer. And when the days have grown too short and cold to think about Summer, you yearn for Christmas. And once New Year's gone you pine for Summer once again.

Living in the UK for four years I have grown to love the seasons as they come and to not look too farther into the calendar. I have mastered the art of savouring the present season and I have learned to compartimentalise the year. In truth it's not really enlightment, it's self-preservation. It is a way of coping with the long periods away from my family by facing the year in smaller chunks of time.

Right now I long for Halloween. Once that's done with, I will count the days until Bonfire Night, and from then the sleeps until Christmas. Then comes January, with a new year full of promise and resolutions. As the month draws to a close I focus on Valentines, shortly followed by my birthday. Then comes a day I never celebrated before moving to the UK - Pancake Day! This heralds Lent and 40-odd days of giving up something I love (usually chocolate) and proving myself I can do without it. Easter is soon on the horizon, followed by the Spring bank holidays, which tentatively open barbecue season. By this point I can start packing to go back to my family and my country. The day after I come back from holidays I close the door of Summer and look forward to the crunch of freshly fallen leaves, jumper season and hot tea aplenty. Knitting projects, warm blankets and movie night ins. Rui's birthday and our anniversary and we're back where we are now. And this is my year.

Even though this is something I merely happened to stumble upon on my route to keep from going insane in a foreign land, there is happiness and bliss to be taken from this way of passing time and I am glad it is now engrained into how I look at life and time. Each season has something to be celebrated, be it a special day, the food that's in season, a show or expo (Comic Con!) that's in town or simply the much awaited presence of loved ones. So grab you calendars and pepper them with dates to look forward to, you'll see the year has never flown so fast.

Autumn love

In late October, when my mind first starts to think about Christmas, I always feel the need to rein myself in and think of Autumn.

Autumn with its crispy leaves and falling conkers. The season of Hallowe'en and Bonfire Night. The time of year when we first light up the scented candles or when we start searching the cookbooks for hearty warm food.

So, to distract me from the early thoughts of Christmas, I turn once more to list-making. Here's a list of things I want to accomplish before December kicks in:

1. Organise the pantry - the last few months have been so hectic we just dump the groceries in there and our neat system has become a hodgepodge of items wherever we find a bit of room.
2. Tidy our wardrobe - another victim of lack of time and energy. Also it's time to make room for new clothes.
3. Get back in that gym! (I think this one speaks for itself. Shame!)
4. Learn how to make stuffed butternut squash - because yum!
5. Eat less meat and more fish and veg.
6. Make my own Mark scarf (if this sentence means nothing to you, go watch Rent and thank me later!)
7. Start journaling - I think this will give me the focus I need to achieve more and starting it now will give an edge with next year's resolutions. And I saved the most important item for last:
8. Spend as much time as possible with my better half. If all goes according to plan the first months of 2016 will be quite intense, so I want to concentrate on pampering and focusing our relationship now.

There! I feel ready to embrace the season!

Previously on The Life of Meerkat

So remember that new year resolution about writing more? That idea kind of died before it was even born. (Sorry about that, everyone!) Nevertheless here I am, ready to stretch my muscles enough to have me in fit shape for a new year of writing. Yes, I know 2016 is well over two months away, but it's high time to catch up on old resolutions and give them a kick now so that I can get a head start on 2016.

So here's a little catch-up of what you've missed so far:

• I celebrated my 29th birthday
• I've been at a job I love for 14 months now
• I went from temp to perm in April
• I'm on my 21st book this year
• I've finally seen Miss Saigon live
• The boyfriend celebrated his 40th
• We've been to our first UK Games Expo
• I've held a live owl and petted a real meerkat
• I showed up at my dad's unannounced for Easter break and I've never seen anyone so surprised and glad to see me, ever!
• I've been to London four times this year and Oxford another two
• I've made a Tom Baker scarf (it's a bloody long achievement)
• I got used to getting up at 5am every weekday
• I've spent a full week in the Algarve, which I hadn't done since I moved to the UK
• I got over my dread of selfies and making funny faces on camera thanks to the Big Hoot owls
• I've finally learnt how to make tomato risotto and it's the best comfort food

That's about what I can remember now. I'll try and keep this going from now on. Watch this space and keep your fingers crossed!

2014 in review

So given that it's the last day of January I thought it might be high time to think back on what 2014 has brought me.

I started the year with a brand new, amazing job. The work was great, my colleagues were fantastic, the location was top-notch, the whole package was fabulous. For the first time in my life I had a conventional grown-up job and I couldn't have been happier.

In 2014 me and my better half went on our first big adventure abroad - a trip to Morocco! We rode camels through desert dunes (have I mentioned I'm terrified of heights?), we spent the night in a Bedouin camp, we ate under the stars, we explored the capital, wandered in the souks and haggled (poorly) for our souvenirs and got lost in labyrinth that is the medina.

After pancake day I decided, as a bit of an after thought to do the whole of Lent without a single taste of chocolate. I never thought I had it in me to go half that long without it, but the truth of the matter is I somehow did it. And might proud of it I am too!

Then in May I was made redundant. Heartbroken as I was to lose the best job I've had thus far I went back home, recharged my batteries and then returned for the all too familiar job hunting process. In just under two months I got the job where I am now, so all in all I did well and was quite lucky.

In August I started the new job, which I love. My team is great and the job is good fun. Fingers crossed I can imagine a bright future if all goes well. Life as a grown-up is good.

Due to a series of events I ended up having two periods during which the boyfriend was abroad and I had the house all to myself. That was a first in my life. For almost two weeks whenever I was home I had Friends on all the time, just because. I knitted on the big sofa (it's a two-seater, so big needles are a big no no) and listened to French music whenever I felt like it. It was a nice pampering me time.

We had a series of short but quite enjoyable outings - we got lost in a maize maze, we went to a music festival in Cheltenham, we went to Oxford a number of times, we went to ComicCon twice, we cosplayed, we celebrated my 28th in London with a true Portuguese custard tart, we handled birds of prey (at least one of us did... I just took the cool photos!) and we had a weekend away in Ludlow.

Towards the end of the year, and quite by a stroke of luck, we went to see Avenue Q. It's been ages since I last saw a musical on stage, so the whole experience just reminded me of something I love so much that I had lost touch with for a while. Definitely an experience to be repeated soon!

And then we had the most chilled Christmas holidays, nestled in our living room, watching movies in our pyjamas and playing board games.

All in all it was a fantastic 2014. And something tells me 2015 is promising to be even better!