Since I’ve started my new job and re acquainted myself to life in London, my brain has been finding it hard to cope.  When I’m not at work, I have been wondering around in a daze.  It’s like my brain is conserving energy when it doesn’t have to actively concentrate on the all the new things I am learning in my new research role. And I tell you what I am learning an awful lot. So my brain goes into shut down at all other times.  I must look quite odd with a completely vacant expression on my face.  Usually I would be getting very excited about the prospect of all the new exhibitions that I can pog around in, but alas that has not happened, too much brain weakness for that. I’ve also recently become disillusioned with my Google reader feeds. Very disappointed, I can normally find something that sparks my interest, but not for a good few weeks has that occurred. What is a actually gone ‘dumb blonde’ to do?  Well there have been three things that have been keeping me sane.

Firstly: tea. I love tea. Yes it’s official.  Over the past few weeks I’ve been working really hard in my new job, meeting new people, learning new concepts, starting new research, and its all been a bit stressful.  My brain feels well and truly saturated.  But what is easing the burden is tea. It is brilliant stuff. I don’t know if it’s just a northern thing, but tea solves every problem imaginable.  I bought some beautiful Cornish tea, yes Cornwall makes tea, back in the Penzancian days.  A place called Tregothnan, http://www.tregothnan.co.uk/ and it produces some beautifully fragrant teas.  Not only that but the little specialist tea and coffee shop in Penzance (I’m actually beginning to miss Penzance, shush don’t tell anyone) that I bought it from also sells goods from the tea appreciation society and I got myself a nifty I love tea bag, which has been going down a storm in Camden, comments and praise a go go. So yes, tea is a fantastic thing.

Secondly: culture shock. This is a brilliant initiative fronted by (in my opinion the gods of the museum world- some Geordie bias there but hey) Tyne and Wear Museums. It is attempting to discover and record digital stories that have been inspired by North East Museums. My personal favourite being the inspirational stories arising from baking apparatus.   What with this, the Great North Museum grand opening and Museumnext, Newcastle is really beginning to show what its capable of in the museum world (rather than just being known for its greatness by the few)

Thirdly: wordr.  This is still very much in alpha, but its awesome. Its inconsequential, playful,  and its fun!  Twitter is 140 characters right? Well wordr, is you guessed it just one word (28 characters is that right?). Its amazing what you can express with just one word. I can track what I and others have been doing in a day and what mood I have been in a beautiful way (ok so beautiful is a bit strong but I am very much enjoying the freedom of single wordyness). A prime example is during the Mr (im not a racist, oh wait, actually I am a racist) Griffin on BBC questiontime last week.  Instead of going on a rant like quite a few (by quite a few take that to mean lots of) people, I was able to some up my feelings with one word ‘berk’. That makes me unbelievably happy. I’m also able to boast that I hold the position of the 1000^th word of wordr which is ‘gin’. Again this makes me happy, and for all the people who actually know me, this three lettered word expresses my personality quite aptly.   And what’s the most posted word on wordr to date? Another three letter word… tea.