9 Feb - It's about time!

I left my country, I emigrated to new pastures, I travelled the world, I worked and lived in one of the most internationally successful cities, I’ve seen many dreams come true, I’ve changed and grown, I’ve found a new life and I’ve hit rock bottom.

And in this enormous change, I have lost myself.

Today I am 32. It’s an age I am afraid of. It places me in an age group I am still not used to. It smells like confusion and unhappiness. It has an edge of urgency. It holds the memories of the passion that keeps my hopes and dreams alive. It drives me to go on and achieve, to fulfil my destiny. It tells me over and over again that life... is too short.

My biggest birthday wish this year, is to find myself again.


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My most sentimental and meaningful piece of jewellery is a watch I bought in 1999. It means so much to me because back then I was lonely and sad, and for the first time in my life, I had enough money to spoil myself and buy jewellery. I bought three watches at a sale and they were all very special to me. I gave one to M and one to G and have worn the other ever since.

About a year ago, when my life was falling apart, the batteries on my watch stopped working and I just didn’t get around to replacing them and so I got used to being without a watch. It was disorientating at first, until eventually I gave in to the chaos that dominated my life, and I stopped watching.

Just recently, after trying to put my life together again, I decided, as an act of getting back on track that I would replace the batteries and start using the watch again, but alas I couldn’t find it anywhere.

Right now, in London, England, it is an hour and a minute into the 9th February 2008, my birthday. I have reached for my old handbag in my bedside drawer to get some lip balm out, but the bag slipped, caused a huge noise and some of the contents fell out, and among them was my watch!

I take this as a sign- that it’s about time I started fulfilling my destiny.

Happy Birthday to me.