"Your knuckles whiten on the wheel, the last thing that your hands will feel..."

I feel fucking gash.

Every year around this time I suffer from weird-ass nonsense ailments that are as ridiculous as they are painful. Last year I had a horrible day at the ear, nose and throat specialist who stuck a telescope up my nose and down the back of my throat and told me I need to go to a speech therapist and then when I went to the GP in the afternoon he told me I had Chronic Sinusitus and put me on a course of antibiotics.
This year, the Gods of Health have graced me with an on-going cold that has the specific infection point of upper nose causing it to be both runny and blocked all at the same time, with the added hilarity of my head feeling all stuffy which in turn makes, I believe, me to have puffy eyes in the morning which is totally unattractive. AND to top it all off, my bottom right wisdom tooth is infected, and I'm currently eating Bonjela as if it is chocolate.

All in all I feel like I'm falling apart.

What is it about this time of year and illness? Is it the cold weather that beats down your immune system? Maybe our bodies are fighting the cold so much that it hasn't the strength to beat off sickness at the same time. Who knows. All I know is that around late November for about 3 weeks I feel like my body has sensed the end is nigh and starts to relax and slow down. With this sloth attitude, germs and infections that my body otherwise happily bats away are welcomed in with open arms.

Bastard body.

In other news - I went to see Ian Brown at the weekend and finally fulfilled one of the many things I've always wanted to do since I got into music. Well kinda. I recreated, in my mind, a late '80s Warehouse 1 party in Manchester. Yes, yes I know I was in London, and yes it was just Ian Brown and not The Stone Roses, and yes it was 15 years later, but I always wanted to have been in Manchester in the late 80s during the rave, baggy, pill-popping era, and this was as close as I was going to get to that so when he blasted out I Wanna Be Adored followed by Made Of Stone and I was suddenly exceptionally off my face - a niggling part of me was finally satisfied.

Tremendous.

"But if it wasn't for your misfortunes, I'd be a heavenly person today..."

I'm actually feeling worse - how is that possible? Chances are I was still drunk when I woke up maybe.

Things I'd forgotten about last night:
1) downloading and then dancing to, Sounds Of The Underground by Girls Aloud at 2am
2) Love Will Tear Us Apart
3) Talking to Bernard about Daniella Westbrooke
4) Peeing in an alleyway
5) peeing on my oyster card that had fallen out of my pocket in said alleyway
6) asking what our taxi driver did when he needed the loo
7) a lovely view driving over Blackfriars Bridge
8) Evan talking high hats to Steve New Order

I need bed

"We're like Crystal, (wooooo), its not easy (yeaaaah)..."

So.....I feel like shit! It is somewhat of an amazement that I'm even awake and even more staggering that I can talk/stand/operate as a normal human being. Although it is debateable as to whether I'm currently succeeding in any of these.

Last night we had New Order playing at Brixton Academy. The only other time I had seen them was at Glastonbury - which was brilliant except they forgot to play Blue Monday (durr) so I was rather excited about last night and seeing them at their own gig - having a bop. And they were ace. I was wasted which was also ace and as was Evan. doubly ace.

I'm really struggling to write this blog - I keep drifting off into space and sneezing...

I first met Bernard Sumner last year at the Q awards - it's a long story that involves things I can't discuss on here but suffice to say - I had a "I can't believe I'm here" moment as Sumner talked about Ian Curtis and stuff. I had the same feeling again last night as we 'hung out' in their dressing room post-gig. I got a litte bit too excited with the free drink too. I'm glad I can still feel a bit in awe of it all - it means I'm not totally jaded just yet.

God I'm boring myself with this blog. I have no creativity at all today...I'm going to play solitaire and finish of my sweaty cold pizza from yesterday's lunch.

Hmmmmmm

Eurgh....just did a sick burp...

"scoobie doobie sca sca scoobie doobie dah..."

Smoking doobies in the morning is, I would say, a tricky, yet amusing habit. One that allows one to sort of waft into the day on hazy cloud, somewhat oblivious to the normal everyday stresses of commuting and pre-midday headaches. But couple this with the unsual, and annoying morning infliction of puffy-eye syndrome (PES) that I seem to suffer from on a daily basis and its good bye good lookin' and hello weird mongrel girl! I look like I've been hibernating for four years.
The first words my boss said to me were: "have you got a hangover?"
Charming...

I went to Lille last weekend. Jenny was there on work and so had a (really nice and swanky) hotel sorted etc so invited me along. She would be finished at 4pm on the Saturday which would give us the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday to 'do' Lille together. I arrived at 12pm so had a few hours to kill on my own before meeting up with Jen. With this time I ate moules frites and drank Hoegaarden in the main square, with the sun beating down on me, reading my book. Delightful. I had already mosied around a street market and took advantage of the 'wine tasting' stall so, I was feeling a bit tiddley and whilst walking passed a hairdressers (coiffere) I decided in haste to drop in and get that bob I've been banging on about for a while. So I did, and off came my hair. Its now just below chin level and in a messy bob. It looks kinda cool.
Anyway, once me and Jen hooked up, it was off into night to drink and eat lavishly. We succeeded in our mission with gusto and a previous discussion of utilising the city's nightlife was put on hold, and we were in bed by 12.30am. How poor is that? Still a good night sleep was well needed as all of Sunday we spent wondering aimlessly around the city, picking up bits and pieces and presents along the way. We stumbled across 'l'citedell' which is the old city, surrounded by city walls built in a five pointed star (satan anyone?) and a beautiful canal water-way, which makes it an island or L'ile in French. L'ile became Lille over time...
Blah blah blah, we walked around that for a while and went to a zoo with red pandas, fat owls and snow leopards, and then got our train home. I had bought a first class ticket (only £5 more than standard for this particular train) and spent the two hours travelling, eating airplane food and drinking champagne! Wicked!

Was an exceedling lovely way to spend the weekend. I love France. Yes it's full of french people, yes it sometimes smells of sewages, and they don't treat animals very well, but they have incredible food, exceptional wine, a really chilled out attitude towards life, and a stunning country. I could happily live there and I actually harbour desires to do so...
From now on...I should be referred to as Le Dani.

I brought a Richard Cheese cd that Evan made me in to work, believing it would satisfy all music tastes within the office. I was right. We're now trying to think of a way that we could perhaps get him over to play some dates in the UK. Richard Cheese on Xtra Mile???? Hahahahaahahahahaa