Monday, June 28, 2004
Isnt IKEA lovely?
Just returned some stuff to IKEA today... Bought 1 wardrobe too many for the new house and well can I say they are fantastic!!! So easy, and passing the time of day as the lady credited my card with the money I'd spend mentioned I'd left something behind after paying for it, entirely my own fault blah blah and she said "go see the info desk - it may have been handed in and you can have it back" 10 minutes of Info desk man faffing around and he decides "well we can't trace it but you're clearly not trying it on so we'll give you the item anyway, it's not in stock right now so we will ring you when it is" How cool is that! I was just going to go buy another one anyway. Whilst waiting I browsed the catalogue and found the perfect addition to my own home furnishings that I didn't even know I needed of course so it makes excellent business sense but that is besides the point. Makes such a change from the usual "we've had your money we'll now be as obstructive as we can about your attempts to make a return" attitude most companies come up with in my experience.
Sadly have yet to find tenants for the new house, it's so lovely as well - if only I could live there (how I'd fill a 4 bed semi in Horsforth, Leeds for I do not know). More weeks of adverts then, eating away at the finances. time to find alternative advertising too I guess.
Risk assessment day at work is looming - I am so looking forward to Thursday when I can do some "real" work again. Funny how some vital bits of work stop being "real" work when you see the regular dull stuff mounting up again. You'd think that the different from the norm stuff would always be welcomed with open arms wouldn't you?
Finally found the theme in my choice of men. You know how some people go for a certain look, a certain attitude, a certain career, or maybe hair colour, personality trait what ever. I have finally found the common thread. A deep rooted desire to have a blue/purple victorian style gentleman's study decor in the key room the bloke spends his time in. Helping the man decorate his office this weekend and compare the paint stains on my shoe to the radiator in my living room (which for the last 4 years I haven't got around to repainting after decorating the living room when the chap I lived with once moved out) and lo and behold it's exactly the same colour. Now given my track record as serial monogamist this is only 2 of several men but thinking about it most of the men I have associated have had a tendancy to favour blues and purples in the colours of their lives. The colour therapist in me says it'll be the thinking person I go for (dark blue) or perhaps a (usually unacknowledged) spiritual side (the purple) or perhaps they have a need to protect themselves (purple). the pragmatist says "chuff that don't all men who have little interest in style etc always like dark blue because it's easy?" to which I'm inclined to say "or is it just the men you have shared your life with..."
Sadly have yet to find tenants for the new house, it's so lovely as well - if only I could live there (how I'd fill a 4 bed semi in Horsforth, Leeds for I do not know). More weeks of adverts then, eating away at the finances. time to find alternative advertising too I guess.
Risk assessment day at work is looming - I am so looking forward to Thursday when I can do some "real" work again. Funny how some vital bits of work stop being "real" work when you see the regular dull stuff mounting up again. You'd think that the different from the norm stuff would always be welcomed with open arms wouldn't you?
Finally found the theme in my choice of men. You know how some people go for a certain look, a certain attitude, a certain career, or maybe hair colour, personality trait what ever. I have finally found the common thread. A deep rooted desire to have a blue/purple victorian style gentleman's study decor in the key room the bloke spends his time in. Helping the man decorate his office this weekend and compare the paint stains on my shoe to the radiator in my living room (which for the last 4 years I haven't got around to repainting after decorating the living room when the chap I lived with once moved out) and lo and behold it's exactly the same colour. Now given my track record as serial monogamist this is only 2 of several men but thinking about it most of the men I have associated have had a tendancy to favour blues and purples in the colours of their lives. The colour therapist in me says it'll be the thinking person I go for (dark blue) or perhaps a (usually unacknowledged) spiritual side (the purple) or perhaps they have a need to protect themselves (purple). the pragmatist says "chuff that don't all men who have little interest in style etc always like dark blue because it's easy?" to which I'm inclined to say "or is it just the men you have shared your life with..."
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Furniture building
Had a frenzied evening of activity as having placed the ad in the paper for the house tomorrow I realised there's no way it's fit to view... cue lots of furniture building. Why did I get so many wardrobes? Ikea furniture does make life so easy though - did loads of stuff to the point of hammering nails in then stopped and moved on to the next one as I didn't know if the neighbours have children or not. How considerate am I? The house has the coolest security lights - the help you leave the house in the dark then go off - bless Gaz for his scary efficiency in these things. Lets hope 16 Woodhill Cres proves to be easier to let than it was to buy... Please!
Didn't kill anyone at work today - which I consider a marvel as quite frankly several deserved it. The concept of forward planning seems lost on rather a lot of my colleagues - or maybe it's not so much forward planning but trusting each other to work together and doing the things you agreed to do. I don't know, but I do know that tomorrow will be even more chaotic. Role on the end of child safety week. On the plus side at least one of them informed me this evening that they have worked out the only way to show people you will not pick up the pieces and fill the gaps is by ... not picking up the pieces and filling the gaps. Magic, a glaringly obvious lesson to those who are not compelled to do stuff for others but a very difficult one for those of us who are.
Saw some excellent banners attached to railings outside a school today. The first said something along the lines of "parking on yellow zig zags is thoughtless and dangerous" the other one said "which part of school no parking don't you understand?" Go Leeds Road Safety dept! Tell it like it is! I'd go take a photo but I have finally worked out that my camera just doesn't like the cheap rechargeables I bought it - so time to go shopping for proper camera batteries I guess. Bottom
Didn't kill anyone at work today - which I consider a marvel as quite frankly several deserved it. The concept of forward planning seems lost on rather a lot of my colleagues - or maybe it's not so much forward planning but trusting each other to work together and doing the things you agreed to do. I don't know, but I do know that tomorrow will be even more chaotic. Role on the end of child safety week. On the plus side at least one of them informed me this evening that they have worked out the only way to show people you will not pick up the pieces and fill the gaps is by ... not picking up the pieces and filling the gaps. Magic, a glaringly obvious lesson to those who are not compelled to do stuff for others but a very difficult one for those of us who are.
Saw some excellent banners attached to railings outside a school today. The first said something along the lines of "parking on yellow zig zags is thoughtless and dangerous" the other one said "which part of school no parking don't you understand?" Go Leeds Road Safety dept! Tell it like it is! I'd go take a photo but I have finally worked out that my camera just doesn't like the cheap rechargeables I bought it - so time to go shopping for proper camera batteries I guess. Bottom
Monday, June 21, 2004
Money
Tonight I have caught up with the wonderful world of how little money I have. You'd think by this stage in the game I'd be able to keep up with myself but no... Money in, money out, money all gone. Next month will be rosier I hope. Of course I then did the Shaw estates stuff. Really must keep more on top of that. Hopefully tomorrow evening of furniture building will mean I'm ready to do the let business. £1,000 per month means nice Agent fee, improve finances oh yes. Next financial task Filing - perhaps Thursday along with clearing all teaching stuff into shed I think. End of an era properly. It will be nice to be organised again.
Managed to catch up with data entry at work I know hard to believe. Just in time for next months returns to come in. But will I manage to do all the risk assessment stuff by the end of tomorrow I wonder?
Weekend was excellent as ever. Friday M pointed out to me that going to a gig (see Berretta.co.uk for band) with 2 exs a current and a snog is maybe not the most common of behaviour but I felt I was going with the current and 3 mates which was how I see the world. When you forget they are exs you know they are history.
Saturday building furniture at house to let, then evening of dancing at Wendy House was a joy. http://www.thewendyhouse.org . Nice to have a familiar pain in the feet override the plantar facitis pain that is becoming a timesome feature (will it ever decide to go away?) Sunday was however somewhat less productive than intended if very enjoyable. Lunch in town, hailstones in June? Loads of reading and a cutsie little anime film "spirited away" Not usual run of the mill Iola digest but hey broaden them horizons.
Thankfully the novel got finished today, return to Rebus and a less compelling reading level, for a few days at least. But Philip Pullman's the Tiger in the Well was so good. I had to keep reading it. How old am I again?
Managed to catch up with data entry at work I know hard to believe. Just in time for next months returns to come in. But will I manage to do all the risk assessment stuff by the end of tomorrow I wonder?
Weekend was excellent as ever. Friday M pointed out to me that going to a gig (see Berretta.co.uk for band) with 2 exs a current and a snog is maybe not the most common of behaviour but I felt I was going with the current and 3 mates which was how I see the world. When you forget they are exs you know they are history.
Saturday building furniture at house to let, then evening of dancing at Wendy House was a joy. http://www.thewendyhouse.org . Nice to have a familiar pain in the feet override the plantar facitis pain that is becoming a timesome feature (will it ever decide to go away?) Sunday was however somewhat less productive than intended if very enjoyable. Lunch in town, hailstones in June? Loads of reading and a cutsie little anime film "spirited away" Not usual run of the mill Iola digest but hey broaden them horizons.
Thankfully the novel got finished today, return to Rebus and a less compelling reading level, for a few days at least. But Philip Pullman's the Tiger in the Well was so good. I had to keep reading it. How old am I again?
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
End of an Era
Today was my last official day of teaching my evening class numeracy. Kind of sad I suppose, but more a relief. Of course not actually teaching as the poor souls did their exam last week so the 2 determined attendees chatted for an hour and that was the end of that. I probably aught to have spend my bonus evening doing lots of important things but instead I'm recovering from a post biscuit trauma...
I've got so used to not eating biscuits that I forget how exhausting they are - Had a truly dreadful time of most of today (you know things aren't going well when you have done no work but gained lots of work by 2 pm in the day) so went out to do some real work - ie shopping that couldn't be got from our stationery suppliers, and dropped in at the shop and bought us biscuits. I guess it's about 3 months since I ate biscuits and did I feel rough about 4 - 9 pm this evening. Just tired and heavy and like I was full of stuff my body didn't know how to process. Guess it's back to the no processed sugar diet for me then. I may have been unhappy but I wasn't filled with self loathing - no need to punish myself like that! I think I may have trained my body to see "healthy" stuff as reward food and the sort of stuff most people see as reward food is in fact "punishment" food. Magic. The diet of non dieters may yet be mine!
listening to Interpol right now - not heard them before but very dark - Nick Cave -Leonard Cohen tendencies I'd say. Still very excited about the competition I won at kittenspyjamas.blogspot.com. How shallow am I? Still failing to let the new house. That doesn't make good business sense does it now?
I've got so used to not eating biscuits that I forget how exhausting they are - Had a truly dreadful time of most of today (you know things aren't going well when you have done no work but gained lots of work by 2 pm in the day) so went out to do some real work - ie shopping that couldn't be got from our stationery suppliers, and dropped in at the shop and bought us biscuits. I guess it's about 3 months since I ate biscuits and did I feel rough about 4 - 9 pm this evening. Just tired and heavy and like I was full of stuff my body didn't know how to process. Guess it's back to the no processed sugar diet for me then. I may have been unhappy but I wasn't filled with self loathing - no need to punish myself like that! I think I may have trained my body to see "healthy" stuff as reward food and the sort of stuff most people see as reward food is in fact "punishment" food. Magic. The diet of non dieters may yet be mine!
listening to Interpol right now - not heard them before but very dark - Nick Cave -Leonard Cohen tendencies I'd say. Still very excited about the competition I won at kittenspyjamas.blogspot.com. How shallow am I? Still failing to let the new house. That doesn't make good business sense does it now?
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
swilling in filth
Hmmm Day 4 since my shower was "fixed" and I have been informed that the mixer has infact gone (2 years old, handy, just beyond warranty) and it'll be mulcho money to fix. Slowly the savings account disappears under the onslaught of life. Meanwhile I'm having to have baths and swill around in my own filth or go and use the mans shower -which is about a lilly livered a shower as I've ever experienced, as well as being uber sensitive and will only actually achieve the correct temperature 3 secs at a time then for 6 seconds when you have finally given up on the idea of a proper shower. It is a shower for messing in not washing in.
Trauma of clothes clearance for a friend recovered from, voting completed. I still don't like postal voting (especially as it has become deliver it yourself voting for me) and this lack of campaigning that the local people are doing. Hey the alternative is not worth contemplating, what right have I got to whinge if I don't bother expressing my opinion on the magic slip of paper? Lets face it I'll never deny a good whinge.
Not quite got over the trauma of JM on the phone last night, but think I remember salient points. FB to give birth next week. Parents to be visiting for subsequent month, not desiring visiting here, would like to meet in London. SNP/conservatives/stuff Scottish MEPs, lack of veg in guests diets. Why don't many old people and men eat veg? And why are my folks so weird they do?
Cats are completely surreal tonight - clearly the excitement of winning a cat related competition on someone else's blog has worn off on them. Or maybe they believe I support their policy of feeding at every household on the street.
Trauma of clothes clearance for a friend recovered from, voting completed. I still don't like postal voting (especially as it has become deliver it yourself voting for me) and this lack of campaigning that the local people are doing. Hey the alternative is not worth contemplating, what right have I got to whinge if I don't bother expressing my opinion on the magic slip of paper? Lets face it I'll never deny a good whinge.
Not quite got over the trauma of JM on the phone last night, but think I remember salient points. FB to give birth next week. Parents to be visiting for subsequent month, not desiring visiting here, would like to meet in London. SNP/conservatives/stuff Scottish MEPs, lack of veg in guests diets. Why don't many old people and men eat veg? And why are my folks so weird they do?
Cats are completely surreal tonight - clearly the excitement of winning a cat related competition on someone else's blog has worn off on them. Or maybe they believe I support their policy of feeding at every household on the street.
Saturday, June 05, 2004
Rrargh!
Shower catastrophe - the fixed yesterday shower is now very bust - 2 hours of water pissing out of the wall mounting and I switched it off in the loft, now cleanly goodness for me this weekend! The nice plumber will look at it on Monday, he was very relieved I suggested he would prefer that to visiting today as by the time the call was returned it was after noon and there wouldn't be any chance of sourcing parts anyway.
Imagine this - traveling from Canada to Russia by barge - how cool or what? - see it here.....
Mayonnaise was the order of the day - and it seems to have worked well - none of this grandma says drip drip drip the oil in for me. Generous schooshes seemed to work and hopefully the resultant potato salad will be up to the new man's hopes and dreams. Somehow I doubt it, we have an impasse regarding cooking. I like following recipes therefore I will forever be scorned as a cook. He doesn't do veg, therefore I will probably forever perceive a hole in his culinary skills. Maybe this is why my immune system is so depressed and I still have scratchy scratchy throat. Sadly said throat doesn't make drinking juice and other such tasty goodness very easy. More fisherman's friends may be the only solution - and we'll deal with the hyperactive sugar monster later.
Imagine this - traveling from Canada to Russia by barge - how cool or what? - see it here.....
Mayonnaise was the order of the day - and it seems to have worked well - none of this grandma says drip drip drip the oil in for me. Generous schooshes seemed to work and hopefully the resultant potato salad will be up to the new man's hopes and dreams. Somehow I doubt it, we have an impasse regarding cooking. I like following recipes therefore I will forever be scorned as a cook. He doesn't do veg, therefore I will probably forever perceive a hole in his culinary skills. Maybe this is why my immune system is so depressed and I still have scratchy scratchy throat. Sadly said throat doesn't make drinking juice and other such tasty goodness very easy. More fisherman's friends may be the only solution - and we'll deal with the hyperactive sugar monster later.
Friday, June 04, 2004
blarg friday
Well someone has given me a scatchy scratchy throat and I am currently in not wanting to visit the pub mode, but of course it's friday so you have to... the jolly old grove it is (http://www.liveinleeds.com/the-grove.htm) Farewell to Anna as she jets off to New Zealand with the lovely Robin for the summer, Qui? isn't it winter there right now? Arty has given up on her strange new yowling, must get that label about clinical obesity for the cats made, them locals are feeding her too much.
The budda like bloaty tummy has come and gone - that was curious and curiouser, must investigate, along with methods to cure the amazing hurty hurty feet. I blame the skiing. Work was a washout today. Mental note remotivate and move on up next week. Now on the phone to the crazy Jean so must fly
The budda like bloaty tummy has come and gone - that was curious and curiouser, must investigate, along with methods to cure the amazing hurty hurty feet. I blame the skiing. Work was a washout today. Mental note remotivate and move on up next week. Now on the phone to the crazy Jean so must fly
Thursday, June 03, 2004
In the beginning...
Having spent 5 years telling myself the only way I'm ever going to learn the stuff I'd like to learn about webstuff (sites, design, blah blah blah) is to get on and do it I appear to have accidentally got my round tuit and done so. So it takes 5 years to overcome the bitter disappointment that Dreamweaver wasn't some fantastic new skill but just another package that could be learned - that disappointment was so great I failed to learn it. Hmmm not a lot of logic there really, but then logic hasn't ever been a strong point of mine. Writing stuff in the form of a glorified diary however is pretty much how I communicate (email, messages to myself etc) so I will continue to do so, hopefully learning something along the way. Put them crazy thoughts down on paper so you can move onto the next one and stop it spinning around and around in your head and are there an awful lot of thoughts in there right now, just waiting...
1. How much do I resent having to do postal voting? I like the ritual of going out the back door hopping over the wall into the school yard, walking round to the hall, going in putting my cross in the box and scarpering before someone with a clip board forces me to look straight through them so they won't ask who I voted for. But that is not to be this year. So at some point this weekend I need to find out exactly what everyone is standing for and why. Labour have told me 5 times already how to vote for them but have not really told me what I'd be voting for locally (although Unison have kindly pointed out their virtues in Europe) Lib dems - well they have all the totty candidates in the region. Conservatives - they have sent their contribution which amounts to vote for us we aren't the other people I believe. BNP are fielding candidates, the only person I know who might consider them is Islamic but doesn't want to marry a bloody foreigner. Them Kip people are out in pink, highly constructive stance I see. No one seems to care about the local campaign...
2. Lust love and the future of romance has slithered into life recently, what a joy to be in a relationship in the happy beginning where when in the gym you are contemplating looking forward to what you will do together rather than burning the frustration at not addressing the issues you really aught to get around to addressing.
3. The frustration of weight loss. Yes I know I've really been trying hard to drop those 10kg but since the argument for not putting on weight back in the dawn of time was "eat and drink less, exercise more or buy bigger clothes". Buying clothes is a waste of valuable beer money leaving only the option of exercise then it all falls apart when more recently having given in, bought bigger clothes, despaired at the size above the size above, then eating less and exercising more works none of the clothes fit any more... Wasting beer money appears to happen regardless. Doh.
4. Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Ethiopia, why did I get a social conscience and started caring? Get these news aware thoughts out of my head and return to the old days of playing cards at dinner time. Doh but I started reading the news because I have got a brain it just wanted using again.
5. The difficulties of becoming a property mogul. But I'll have the rant about the evils of Solicitors another day.
1. How much do I resent having to do postal voting? I like the ritual of going out the back door hopping over the wall into the school yard, walking round to the hall, going in putting my cross in the box and scarpering before someone with a clip board forces me to look straight through them so they won't ask who I voted for. But that is not to be this year. So at some point this weekend I need to find out exactly what everyone is standing for and why. Labour have told me 5 times already how to vote for them but have not really told me what I'd be voting for locally (although Unison have kindly pointed out their virtues in Europe) Lib dems - well they have all the totty candidates in the region. Conservatives - they have sent their contribution which amounts to vote for us we aren't the other people I believe. BNP are fielding candidates, the only person I know who might consider them is Islamic but doesn't want to marry a bloody foreigner. Them Kip people are out in pink, highly constructive stance I see. No one seems to care about the local campaign...
2. Lust love and the future of romance has slithered into life recently, what a joy to be in a relationship in the happy beginning where when in the gym you are contemplating looking forward to what you will do together rather than burning the frustration at not addressing the issues you really aught to get around to addressing.
3. The frustration of weight loss. Yes I know I've really been trying hard to drop those 10kg but since the argument for not putting on weight back in the dawn of time was "eat and drink less, exercise more or buy bigger clothes". Buying clothes is a waste of valuable beer money leaving only the option of exercise then it all falls apart when more recently having given in, bought bigger clothes, despaired at the size above the size above, then eating less and exercising more works none of the clothes fit any more... Wasting beer money appears to happen regardless. Doh.
4. Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Ethiopia, why did I get a social conscience and started caring? Get these news aware thoughts out of my head and return to the old days of playing cards at dinner time. Doh but I started reading the news because I have got a brain it just wanted using again.
5. The difficulties of becoming a property mogul. But I'll have the rant about the evils of Solicitors another day.
