Time flies when you’re having fun… August and September roundup.

 So the last entry was 6^th August. That’s pretty bad – even for me! The only defence I have is that I have been phenomenally busy over the last couple of months – even for me! I’m going to do you lovely people a highlight round up of August and September (to give you an idea of what I’ve been up to).

August

The 24 Carrots Summer market took up a whole load of time in August! Had many a meeting to plan and discuss how we were actually going to pull it off! It was exhausting! It felt like if we weren’t talking about it directly, I was emailing people drafting press releases, begging prizes for the raffle or on the phone to someone about it. We had 10 working days to plan the event, layout, stallholders and get social media interest in it. I’m very pleased to say that the event went down REALLY WELL! We had some really cute bunting (which gave it a fete feel), a great response from our stallholders and a good result on the raffle (£160 split between the JQNF and the Church). I EVEN got to meet Johnny Bravo and get a signed photo – SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!

We had lots of Birthday things going on in August too! I’ve told you about Emma’s birthday night out at Bingo, but we had a lovely night out for Jo’s birthday at the Rose Villa too. Was lovely to catch up with some of her lovely friends that don’t come to Brum that often J.

On 9^th August was the fabulous Dystopiacon! Me and Dan rocked the DJ booth with a mix of chiptune, beats and geeky breaks. I threw together a Fiona (Adventuretime) outfit with moderate success – no photo’s I’m afraid though! I’ve been particularly pants at remembering to grab snaps lately. The night was excellent fun though (and lots of people requested the set list – which is always gratifying).

iVardensphere in Sheffield was on the 10^th (the night after Dystopiacon – we were shattered).  It was great to see everyone again! We might wear black and look quite serious, but the fab alternative music scene we belong to is our extended family (and it’s always good to get everyone together). Had a VERY sore head on the Sunday (I blame myself; and a copious amount of Jagermeister).

We were very blessed to have a visit from our brilliant friend Carolyn in August too! Carolyn is one of my oldest friends, so its always wonderful to catch up over a glass (or 4) of wine and shoot the breeze. We went out for a casual meal at the pub and then a few peeps popped over the ceremonial “Drink and Bitch” that we’re all so good at.

The week commencing 19^th August was MENTAL! We had Infest to pack and get ready for, I had a meal with work colleagues (it was my last week at my job) and market things to get wrapped up. It was a great week and I was spoiled rotten by my colleagues (vouchers, flowers, cards and presents). By the time the market was done on the Thursday evening, I was completely wiped out. A great time to have to do ALL of the packing for a music festival, right? 0_o

Despite arriving (after having to go back to the house three times due to forgetting tickets and important things) totally wiped, we had an amazing time. We drank far too much, danced so much our feet hurt and met wonderful people. What more could you ask for than that?

The following week I had off (before starting my new job). The week pretty much consisted of meeting up with my mate Mouse and the Brum posse for drinks/coffee, shopping and lazing around. Bliss.

September

September started with a bang as I started my new job on Monday 2^nd.  I had to get up bright and early to trek down to London to grab my laptop and meet some of the team. The head office is AMAZING! There is a Beer Tap IN THE OFFICE (I’m not joking), free food and everyone is really friendly and sweet. My first week was a blur of learning about the site, the Birmingham Community, my role and various gadgets and gizmo’s that I now need to do the job. I am now a Mac user and have an iPhone. 0_o

I had my first taste of Dome Club and Pecha Kucha on Thursday 5^th. What a great pair of concepts! Dome club is held in the 360 dome within Birmingham Thinktank. It gathers people together to watch films, look at art and discuss the use of the dome moving forward. Pecha Kucha is also really fab! It’s a simple concept – a presentation done by anyone, on any subject, 20 slides, 20 seconds on each slide. The result is fast paced, funny and interesting presentations.

I did loads in September, but one of the obvious highlights was Vienna. We have a thing (me and my nearest and dearest), with so many 30^th Birthday’s around the same time; the following question is posed: “Where would you like to be on your 30^th?” The deal is, we then all go. It’s been fab so far as I’ve been to Vienna and Berlin and off to Amsterdam next year for a 40^th! Vienna was simply beautiful. Most of the photos on this post are from the trip (as they were the most interesting photos from the two months). We drank, ate, went to a crypt and saw mummies, visited the Natural History Museum and drank (again).

Another Highlight was Edinburgh! I went for work but got to see lots of it too! Ate at some wonderful restaurant and tried many, many different kinds of coffee. It was an exhausting 3 days – but filled with learning and excitement!

The rest of September consisted of meetings with friends/contacts, sorting out wedding rings (excite!),  quizzes and partying. I would love to do a summary of everything… but there’s not enough time!

Onwards and upwards… in October now – hold on to your hats! It’s going to be an exciting last quarter of the year!