I still wouldn't mind a puppy, though.

Without even the intervention of any puppies my day yesterday really picked up.

I went to meet Janie (www.birdwebsite.net) in the Café Boheme in Soho, to discuss my potentially playing cello with her. She's a singer, and a cellist, and for years worked with just an acoustic guitarist, so that they had three instruments on stage if you include vocals, which I do. She had a record deal on the table, but it fell through at the last minute. She took a break for a bit after that, as I'd imagine she'd've needed to. Now she has decided to get up and running again, but she wants to explore the idea of having more cellos on stage. Of which I will be one! Well, I will play one. Not be dressed as one. Now I have an image of myself dressed in a big foam cello, arms sticking out of the sides, head halfway up the fingerboad, face painted black with strings on it and sporting a somewhat forlorn expression. With a sign around my neck saying 'Play Me'. Or perhaps 'Played'. Arty.

She was lovely, energetic and enthusiastic. Our opinions on music are similar, and I was much relieved when she confessed to me that she never sat herself down to play scales and do boring but ostensibly 'good for you' exercises. She just plays the things she likes, and experiments with everything and just likes to see what happens. Which is kind of what I always did, and do now with my singing. My scales and sight-reading were always my weak points, and the performance and musicality my strengths. I actually failed my grade eight sight-reading, but got full marks for the pieces and so came out with a lovely pretty merit. Anyway, this doesn't sound like the sort of project which will engender lots of "shitsticks is that a key change oh bollocks I think it just went into tenor clef ok so that's a C and if I count up from that then this note must be an A but now I've just spend ten seconds thinking about it can I get away with pretending it was a dramatic pause?" moments. She gave me some CDs which I will listen to and see what I can do with them on my cello, then we will rehearse on Sunday 25th June with a view to doing a gig on the 29th. Which is soon.

It isn't singing, but it's music and it's interesting. I am prepared to deviate for this, because I would love to sing and play my cello, and I think this will be excellent experience. The fact is that singing and playing simultaneously is really hard. I have tried and it takes every ounce of concentration in my meagre brain until I collapse in a twitching heap after about eleven seconds. I told Janie this last night and she laughed, saying that she was exactly the same at first, but after about six months it happens. I want to get to that point, accompany myself on my cello. I need practice, though, and I need inspiration. I think I'll get both of those things by getting involved with this project.

Also: New Zealand. I am going. In August. For two and a bit weeks. I haven't booked my flights yet but I will soon.

You may, as my mother did, be asking: "And how is Miss Perpetually Broke affording all this?"

The answer is: Pretend Money! Hurray for credit cards!

Actually NOT hurray for credit cards. They are the Devil's plastic. However, I am planning on buying the ticket and then THAT IS IT NO MORE. I am so terrified of losing control of money and ending up in a debtor's prison in the late ninteenth century that I will not take any risks.

I am going with my boyfriend. Who is an ex-boyfriend. No, not the one who had no affection for me. Another one. Who is lovely. We sat in a lovely old pub last night and drank beer and made each other laugh, and I thought to myself 'yeah, this is pretty much really nice'. Then I said it out loud, but I sounded way, way cooler.
I don't want to go too much into it, because he reads this sometimes and I don't know what to say, what with having to play hard to get, and be all aloof and smooth and stuff. (Please, less laughter at the back there.)

I am happy. I can't type that without wanting to type 'FOR NOW' in large, ominous letters, because that is the sort of knobbishness I indulge myself in.

Well, whatever. I'm going to New Zealand with him in August, because I want to go to New Zealand again, because I love it, and he needs someone to sit next to him and tell him bad jokes and talk about how much she misses blogging. Rock and roll, my friends.

Thank you for the suggestions yesterday, I took every bit of advice and followed all instructions to the letter. It was an interesting few hours, I can tell you. I'll upload the photos when I get a chance, and also when I stop having the technological aptitude of a mouldy carrot (I have put up a profile photo, though! Which is really pretentious, I don't do that in real life, ever, that thing with my hand under my chin. I was drunk. Forgive me?)

Well, have a fun Thursday, please. If you are watching the football have fun with that, I'll be somewhere else.