[购物狂.系列].2.shopaholic.abroad

ShopaholicTakesManhattan(akaShopaholicAbroad)BySOPHIEKINSELLAThesecondbookintheShopaholicseries(2001)2EndwichBankFULHAMBRANCH3FulhamRoadLondonSW69JHMsRebeccaBloomwoodFlat24BurneyRdLondonSW68FD18July2001DearMissBloomwoodThankyouforyourletterof15July.IampleasedtohearthatyouhavenowbeenwithEndwichBankfornearlyfiveyears.Unfortunatelywedonotoffera'FiveYearBonus'asyousuggest,nora'CleanSlate,StartAgain'overdraftamnesty.Iagreethatbotharegoodideas.Iaminsteadpreparedtoextendyouroverdraftlimitbyanother£500,takingitupto£4,000,andsuggestthatwemeetbeforetoolongtodiscussyourongoingfinancialneeds.YourssincerelyDerekSmeathManagerENDWICH,BECAUSEWECARE3EndwichBankFULHAMBRANCH3FulhamRoadLondonSW69JHMsRebeccaBloomwoodFlat24BurneyRdLondonSW68FD23July2001DearMissBloomwoodIamgladthatmyletterof18Julyprovedhelpful.Ishouldhoweverbegratefulifyouwouldrefrainfromreferringtomepersonallyonyourtelevisionshowas'SweetieSmeathie'and'thebestbankmanagerintheworld'.AlthoughnaturallyIampleasedyoufeelthisway,mysuperiorsarealittleanxiousattheimageofEndwichBankwhichisbeingpresented,andhaveaskedthatIwritetoyouonthematter.WithallbestwishesDerekSmeathManagerENDWICH,BECAUSEWECARE4EndwichBankFULHAMBRANCH3FulhamRoadLondonSW69JHMsRebeccaBloomwoodFlat24BurneyRdLondonSW68FD20August2001DearMissBloomwoodThankyouforyourletterof18August.Iwassorrytohearthatkeepingwithinyournewoverdraftlimitisprovingsodifficult.IunderstandthatthePiedhTerresummersaledoesnothappeneveryweek,andIcancertainlyincreaseyourlimitby£63.50,if,asyousay,thiswould'makeallthedifference'.However,Iwouldalsorecommendthatyoucomeintothebranchforamorecomprehensivereviewofyourfinancialsituation.Myassistant,EricaParnell,willbepleasedtosetupanappointment.YourssincerelyDerekSmeathManagerENDWICH,BECAUSEWECARE5ChapterOneOK,don'tpanic.Don'tpanic.It'ssimplyaquestionofbeingorganizedandstayingcalmanddecidingwhatexactlyIneedtotake.Andthenfittingitallneatlyintomysuitcase.Imean,justhowhardcanthatbe?Istepbackfrommyclutteredbedandclosemyeyes,halfhopingthatifIwishhardenough,myclothesmightmagicallyarrangethemselvesintoaseriesofneatfoldedpiles.Likeinthosemagazinearticlesonpacking,whichtellyouhowtogoonholidaywithonecheapsarong(马来群岛土人所穿的围裙skirtmadefromapieceoffabricwrappedaroundthebodyandfastenedatthewaist(wornbymenandwomeninMalaysiaandotherPacificislands)andcleverlyturnitintosixdifferentoutfits.(WhichIalwaysthinkisacompletecon,because,OK,thesarongcoststenquid,butthentheyaddloadsofclotheswhichcosthundreds,andwe'renotsupposedtonotice.)ButwhenIopenmyeyesagain,theclutterisallstillthere.Infact,thereseemstobeevenmoreofit,asifwhilemyeyeswereshut,myclotheshavebeensecretlyjumpingoutofthedrawersandrunningaroundonmybed.EverywhereIlook,allaroundmyroom,therearehugegreattangledpilesof...well...stuff.Shoes,boots,T-shirts,magazines...aBodyShopgiftbasketthatwasonsale...aLinguaphone(灵格风)ItaliancoursewhichImuststart...afacialsaunathingy(objectwhosenameisnotknownorhasbeenforgotten,whatchamacallit)...6And,sittingproudlyonmydressingtable,afencingmaskandswordwhichIboughtyesterday.Onlyfortyquidfromacharityshop!Ipickuptheswordandexperimentallygivealittlelungetowardsmyreflectioninthemirror.Itwasarealcoincidence,becauseI'vebeenmeaningtotakeupfencingforages,eversinceIreadthisarticleaboutitintheDailyWorld.Didyouknowthatfencershavebetterlegsthananyothersportspeople?Plusifyou'reanexpertyoucanbecomeastuntdouble(特技替身)inafilmandearnloadsofmoney!SowhatI'mplanningtodoisfindsomefencinglessonsnearby,andgetreallygood,whichIshouldthinkI'lldoquitequickly.Andthen,thisismysecretlittleplan,whenI'vegotmygoldbadge,orwhateveritis,I'llwritetoCatherineZetaJones.Becauseshemustneedastuntdouble,mustn'tshe?Andwhyshouldn'titbeme?Infactshe'dprobablyprefersomeoneBritish.Maybeshe'llphonebackandsayshealwayswatchesmytelevisionappearancesoncable,andshe'salwayswantedtomeetme!God,yes.Wouldn'tthatbegreat?We'llprobablyreallyhititoff,andturnouttohavethesamesenseofhumorandeverything.AndthenI'llflyouttoherluxuryhome,andgettomeetMichaelDouglasandplaywiththebaby.We'llbeallrelaxedtogetherlikeoldfriends,andsomemagazinewilldoafeatureoncelebritybestfriendsandhaveusinit,andmaybethey'll7evenaskmetobe...'Hi,Bex!'Withajolt,thehappypicturesofmelaughingwithMichaelandCatherinevanishfrommyhead,andmybrainsnapsintofocus.Suze,myflatmate,iswanderingintomyroom,wearingapairofancientpaisleypyjamas.'Whatareyoudoing?'sheaskscuriously.'Nothing!'Isay,hastilyputtingthefencingswordback.'Just...youknow.Keepfit.''Oh,right,'shesaysvaguely.'So,how'sthepackinggoing?'Shewandersovertomymantelpiece,picksupalipstickandbeginstoapplyit.Suzealwaysdoesthisinmyroom,justwandersaboutpickingthingsupandlookingatthemandputtingthemdownagain.Shesaysshelovesthewayyouneverknowwhatyoumightfind,likeinajunkshop.WhichI'mfairlysureshemeansinaniceway.'It'sgoingreallywell,'Isay.'I'mjustdecidingwhichsuitcasetotake.''Ooh,'saysSuzeturninground,hermouthhalfbrightpink.'Whataboutthatlittlecreamone?Oryourredholdall?''Ithoughtmaybethisone,'Isay,haulingmynewacidgreenshellcaseoutfromunderthebed.Iboughtitattheweekend,andit'sabsolutelygorgeous.'Wow!'says