hello from london [part six]

hello friends!

how are you? i have much to update you on. are you ready?

last weekend i went down to brighton with my friend jon to visit his love, neel. we hit up the trash and treasure markets big time. on saturday the boys bought me a lovely old singer domestic sewing machine from the street market. too kind! it came with one condition, i have to make them four costumes a year [they did not specify four in total or four each hmm]. deal! i made jon one on sunday for a music festival he is going to called bestival. apparently it is the biggest costume festival in the world [with amy winehouse as one of the headliners]. he is going as an abstract shape [pyramid on top, cocoon on the bottom, hoop in the middle] made of mismatched bed doonas. it looks good! saturday was a very hot day, it felt like summer, all 23 degrees of it! we walked down to the 'beach' [it has large pebbles instead of sand and no waves] for a splash. it hurts to lie down on pebbles [i learnt that the hard way, no pun intended]. we danced our way through the early hours at a gay night called super dynamite boogaloo. it was okay, i do not mean to be a snob or anything but gay bash [for you out-of-towners, a gay club] was much better. right now, sydney poops all over london. on sunday there was a car boot market and i picked up goodies galore! a tall fifties teapot in teal, two cards of old buttons [one lemon yellow, the other emerald green], and a chunky yellow resin necklace. all for under 10 pounds! neel cut my hair, it is back to its old lopsided shape [as in one side is longer than the other]. a haircut is as good as a holiday, i say!

you know how my room is big enough for a bed, sitting room, and work studio? well it is lovely and all but it is too large for me and i am moving to the room next door which is the size of a shoe box. sure that is a major downgrade but it is 40 pounds less a week [as in aud $80!] and it has a single bed, my favourite kind of bed [double beds are for married people]. it has a small desk and wardrobe which suit me fine as i do not have that much stuff to start with [and i really should not accumulate more]. there is a fireplace in my room with a sweet little mantle for knic-knacs, photographs and my corkboard of inspiration. i just have to remind myself i am saving money this way. there is money flowing out, but none in so far.

the main reason i am writing to you is to report on the jobs front. i know i complained about my internship at r n in the last post but i take it back. sure it is not uncommon to work a ten hour day for no pay [like i did yesterday with five other interns] but it paid off. how? let me tell you. richard is so kind to me. everyday he asks me if i am settling into london okay. yesterday i sewed a toile for him and he fitted it on the house model in his office. he comes out to the kitchen and waves me over. i am thinking "oh no i must have sewn that thing wrong!" and he can tell what i am thinking and says "no you are not in trouble". phew! he is just checking in and asks me what i want from london. he promises to keep an ear open for any design or production assistant jobs. then today he asked me who i want to work for and i say "eley kishimoto!" and he says "alice used to work for them". who? only his patternmaker who really likes me! oh wow it pays to be the best intern ever! for the last two days i have been helping alice fix patterns and she thinks i am a star. she is going to call her boss at e k tomorrow and talk me up. it will probably result in another internship, but at least it is a step closer in the right direction. richard is going to call his friends who just happen to be the owners of b store and and know people at dover street market and talk me up there too [because i desperately need a money job]. oh lucky day! the moral of the story is definitely who you know will get you a long way. i guess a bit of luck and hard work does not go astray either. i was so happy about the alice and e k connection, i nearly peed my pants with excitement.

fingers crossed, everyone!

tomorrow i am going to follow up on all the jobs i have applied for so far and maybe take a trip down to the tate modern. i just know the gift shop is going to be trouble. i totally blew my budget in brighton [mostly on the return train ticket and the almost-sydney-quality japanese restaurant there yum]. i am back to living on 5 pounds a day [not including rent]. i actually like the challenge of living on the cheap. it is so different to my life at home. i have not bought clothes, shoes or any luxury items yet [my moisturiser cost 79p or aud $1.58]. if you think that is impressive, you should all send me a dollar! just kidding. 

take care! love you lots! tell me something new!
olivia