hilkat

This section of the website is my online diary, where you can get a glimpse into the world of a journalist / artist / designer / party addict all round hard working girl.

Most people would call this a ‘blog’, but I find that this conjours up images of twelve year old girls listing their top ten most fanciable boys, or housewives publishing the daily events of their children (“Steven’s scab fell off of his knee today” etc). So I called it ‘I’m not here right now, please leave a message…’ in the hope that this a)makes me sound like I’ve been busy and b)makes it sound exciting enough to actually read. A girl can hope, can’t she?

The last week has been spent in a flurry of activity, with every spare second devoted to either writing for the site, artwork for the site or jewellery for the site. So, its pretty much been all about the site! As you know, the items for sale aren’t up yet, but this should be rectified within the next couple of weeks, or as soon as I make decisions on the packaging. I would have got the design team on it sooner, or asked the art director to handle it, but since I am all of those people, there was more chance of the boxes constructing themselves.

As everyone knows, all work and no play is the fastest route to boredom, so I made it my duty to squeeze in some fun - for the good of my online diary, obviously. A few weeks ago, me and The Boy looked after our friends’ puppy while they went to a festival for the weekend. Now, this dog is not just your average hound from the rescue centre, he is an £800 pedigree beagle pup, desperately cute and extremely devious. Within two hours of them leaving, he had jumped the fence and made a break for it into the neighbours garden. Which neighbour, we did not know. Cue an hour of us crawling through bushes, me in my favourite jeans and The Boy in his work suit, while the neighbour peered over the fence offering useful commentaries such as, “run off, has he?” and, “ooohh, they’ll kill you if you’ve lost him.” To cut a long story short, it was not quite the fun-filled weekend we had thought it might be, and on their return the couple said, “bloody hell, you look knackered.” “No, no, we’re fine. Couldn’t have gone better,” we insisted, staggering out of the door and towards a responsibility-free evening filled with sleep. Anyway, this weekend our hard work was rewarded - we arrived at the friends house expecting an evening in with the DVD player, when they suddenly announced we were off to Bournemouth - as a way of saying thank you for the Beagle Weekend. After much drinking (on my part) and excited gabbling (on The Boys part) we piled into the car and set off. The location of the evening was Club 2020, where one of our favourite DJs was playing, and we passed the time drinking, dancing, screaming at the DJ and taking photographs on a giant PVC bed. Easily the best night I’ve had in months - there’s nothing better than a night out dancing your socks off after a week of headaches and work.

Apart from that I’ve been enjoying lounging on the sofa in the evenings with a glass of cheap wine, alternating between reading and watching TV. My guilty viewing pleasures are Wire in the Blood (a drama about a forensic psychologist who works for the police - I was convinced I was going to follow this career path back in the day. Don’t ask) and the documentary about Jordan and Peter (cannot believe I am admitting this) - I just find them really fun to watch. And they seem so normal. The Boy does not agree, and makes a break for it when the titles come up. Last week he sent me a text saying, “Just got home. Enjoy your program about the dregs of modern society. x” Humph. If it was a program about a day in the life of a Play Station 3 he’d be glued to it.

Next weekend I have a wedding to go to - two of my friends are getting married, so this week will be taken up with lift-planning, outfit-choosing, card-getting and present-organising. I do love weddings, but tears always appear at some point, and since the couple are two of my oldest friends and are absolutely made for each other, I’m sure the waterworks will be in full flow. And that’s just from the friend that I’m going with. Must remember the waterproof mascara…

This week I have been mostly…

Loving:

• Cheap wine.
• Black nail polish.
• Pink fluorescent nail polish.
• Rediscovering old clothes – for me its my skinny grey jeans and lace fingerless gloves.
• The MFI advertisements where people act like they live in the showrooms. The stroppy teenager, woman in the shower and man ironing his trousers – absolute genius.

Hating:

• Not being able to put more music on my mobile since my laptop has carked it. Grrr.
• Buses that arrive when they want. Usually two at a time after you’ve been waiting an hour.

Listening to:

• Stronger by Kanye West
• Bigger than Big by Luciana
• Foundations by Kate Nash
• Stripper and Right and Right Again by the Sohodolls
• The Chris Moyles show. I challenge you to find someone better to wake up with.

Eating:

• Chocolate ice cream. Ben and Jerry’s, Walls, even Asda’s own brand. If its chocolate and its ice cream, its all good.

Reading:

• Vogue (as per usual)
• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. A novel about the legend of Dracula, this book seems to be satisfying my thirst for gothic horror. 220 pages down, 494 to go. Sigh.
• This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M.Homes. Kept me in hysterics, but also made me think - the very best kind of book.

Watching:

• Music channels – it’s my guilty hobby.

Buying:

• Hair dye and bargain items of clothing, surprisingly not from charity shops.

Lusting after:

• A pair of vampy black patent shoes with the highest of high heels. S&M but not in a cheap, perverse way.
• An animal print bedspread. I saw my friends new flat for the first time and she has one in her spare room – found myself wondering if I could sneak it out in my bag at the end of the night.
• The leopard print hoody Fergie wears in her new video.
• Some new trainers – the old ones are so knackered that even a tramp would bin them.
• A new tattoo.
• Doc Martins.

Envying:

• My friend Zak, who is going to work for Marc Jacobs in New York. Despite being thoroughly jealous, I’m still dead pleased for him – the guy’s so trendy he makes Carrie Bradshaw look like a social degenerate.

Sickened of:

• Harry bloody Potter. The new film seems to have generated an awful lot more excitement since Harry got his bits out on stage in the theatre.
• Any televised talent show. Utterly ridiculous viewing.
• Avril Lavigne’s new ‘ballad’. It has been played to the absolute death.