April Showers

Gosh, time flies. I've had so many things to blog about and no time to get 'em down. Such is life.

I'm feeling so positive at the moment. My company is sold, I have new interest from a fabulous agent (more about which anon) and I skied all of Sunday without falling over. I have lots of ideas for my writing. One of my best friends is coming to stay on Thursday and the sun is shining. Lots and lots of reasons to be happy.

However, I have a sort of theory that my happiness is to do with the amount of showers I'm having. I'm totally serious. A shower a day keeps the blues away. Not that I didn't wash before, I hasten to add. Sorry to dispel that particular myth, but us Brits do actually wash. It's just that I've always been more of a bath person. Baths are great - relaxing, warming, comforting - but I reckon showers make you happy. Here's the pseudo-science bit: I heard that it's something to do with the release of negative ions which occurs when water is flowing. That's also why we like water features and the beach and splashing in puddles. The negative ions supposedly put us in a good mood.

My husband, who is the scientist of the family by virtue of the fact that he's got a degree in engineering (as opposed to mine, which is in ACTING), says that this is total bollocks. But to me, the evidence is clear. Even the sound of the shower running puts me in a good mood. The times in my life when I've felt most positive are the times when I've lived in a place with a shower rather than a bath! What else could it be?

Showering is so much part of the American psyche. It's all wrapped up in that go-getter, best-that-I-can-be attitude. Maybe it's something to do with starting anew. Starting anew is such an American concept. You shower, you emerge a new person - invigorated, fresh, positive. As a Brit I've always embraced wallowing, but now I'm getting into the way of being blasted with energy and newness before I start the day. Red Bull for the soul.

I'm a bit slow. I don't mean I'm a thickie, or a slug or a dope. I've been cursed with the combination of a sharp mind and a slow pace. Sometimes it's a blessing; I am the swan with the legs kicking frantically underneath. I'm good at analysing, I'm all about the ponder. I'm a dreamer and a lounger, my brain works faster than my mouth and my body can never keep up. It's extremely hard to shut off from thinking sometimes, I guess that's why I like things like skiing and diving, because the mind doesn't have an opportunity to wander when you're throwing yourself down a mountain or 18 metres below the surface. So I have this hyperactive head that I can rarely switch off, while the bod is always reluctant to get out of first gear.

So what I'm trying to say - not altogether successfully, I fear - is that anything that gives me a kick up the arse is a good thing. That's why America is a good thing for me, that's why showering is a good thing for me. They both give me a helpful wallop and tell me to get on with my day and stop thinking about it. Just do it. Just bloody do it.

I'm off to run the water...

The Biggest Goodbye

Cripes, I've been here over 4 weeks now and I still haven't got my body clock right. I'm neither a night owl or and early bird by nature, but since I've been in the US I've been waking up between 4.30am and 7am most mornings and am often asleep on the sofa by 9.30pm. I think it's largely to do with the fact that if I open an eye at 4am I'm aware it's already 9am in the UK and there is potentially already STUFF for me to deal with in my inbox. So here I am, blogging away, in the PJs and staring out across the harbour at another beautiful east coast sunrise. Seriously, it could be a lot worse.

The last few weeks have been a funny old time - for a whole host of reasons - but not least because I'm in the process of selling my business in the UK. As I write, someone somewhere is signing a contract which will make them the new owner of my (sob) baby... Running my own business has been wonderful, terrifying, stressful, exhilarating. It has taught me so much, giving me such freedom, happiness, satisfaction - made me so angry and frustrated at times and pushed me so far out of my comfort zone. It's been a blast; now it's going to be a blast for someone else (and I'm really pleased it's going to a good home).

So now there will be nothing holding me back. No excuse not to write, I'll have all the time in the world. Sure, I'll have STUFF to do over the next few weeks - dealing with the move and associated red tape seems to go on and on - but as from today I am officially a lady of leisure, a housewife, UNEMPLOYED.

Actually, today is the first day I should start calling myself a writer! Blimey. That's enough to keep anyone awake at night.