It's mainly whinging, really..

There is a distinct lack of chocolate in this apartment

2008-11-26T15:12:00.002Z

Rubbish day (job wise) as only response is poor.

Have tidied kitchen, ironed everything, put more washing in and got up to date with all household tasks.

I am just craving chocolate at the moment and we have none* in the house.. so have instead consumed entire packet of posh crisps in giant bag. Still feeling unfulfilled I have moved onto the jar of chocolate spread in the cupboard, maybe should add some toast to it?

*strictly a lie as we have the remaining roses chocolates which nobody likes

Strangely relevant horoscopes

2008-11-25T11:44:00.002Z

Jobs applied for this morning: 2

Phone calls to apartment asking for doctors appointment: 3 (mysterious...)

"Gemini - Boredom starts to creep in today, and a bored Gemini is not a pretty sight. But whose responsibility is it to make sure that you are entertained? Your friends? The cat?"

Fat bloody chance of that one. Cat is asleep inside contraption and will most likely remain so for rest of day. Have contemplated poking her to make her wake up but not really fancying my chances putting my hand inside a confined space like that..

A blog of numbers

2008-11-24T15:32:00.002Z

Number of enforced visits to Job Centre since last post: 3

Number of times woman at job centre has smiled during those visits: 0

Jobs applied for since Friday: 4

Rejections: 1

Correct lottery numbers: 1

Ideas: 0

Everything happens for a reason. This is my mantra.

I just need to figure out what that reason could be...

A long time coming...

2008-11-19T17:29:00.002Z

Hmm. Last post was 2007...

I am far too lazy to fill in the events of every little moment since then so just to get you to speed -

I am now in London
A silly little thing which the media named the "Credit Crunch" has stolen my job
It is my first Christmas in our flat
My boyfriend now has some kind of high profile career
I have resorted to baking to distract me from desperate emails to agency staff

I have been "without job" for around three weeks.

I have already began talking to the cat rather too much about subjects which I feel may bore her, I have made 36 fairy cakes and 4 large pasties (cake outcome would have been higher had I not consumed a large quantity of mixture prior to casing..) and I have given myself blisters ironing (?!)

So far my consolation lies in 2 possible opportunities:

Agency 1 has a job on hold which they will put me forward for (no idea how long this may be on hold for (think job may not actually exist and agency are applying some cruel tactic to keep me on books)

Agency 2 requested some further examples of work last Friday and I have heard nothing since (Please note I have also emailed the man since asking for feedback and still nothing - I don't wish to become a stalker but I am getting impatient)

*Please not that there are 6 other agencies but these are all unhelpful

When my boyfriend leaves for work I am without a human to talk to until he arrives home in the evening (as I have no money coming in I feel that I can't justify pointless trips on public transport.) All in all this lack of interaction has led me to become tuned into the little noise on my computer which indicates contact from the outside world. Like a little error noise, that beep gets me all excited - only to discover that ASOS has some more offers (which I can't really buy as am unemployed) or that the homebuilding and renovating show is coming to the NEC... It is now too late in the day to expect an email, so I sink into a mini sulk.

Tomorrow is a dreary day which I have been dreading since last week. I had hoped that I would never experience this during my working life but, alas, I have to trek through the East End of London to the Job centre where I will stand, mortified, whilst someone talks to me about how they think I could improve my skills (obviously a degree these days just isn't enough.)

I bet £10 they will not have a clue what my job entails and will put me forward for a job in a wallpaper shop...

At least I got to make use of my v. pretty stripey wellies..

2007-08-20T13:44:00.000+01:00

As I sit at work staring out of the window I can't help but feel resentful to the weather.

It is a beautiful day outside, warm and sunny with a slight breeze - a perfect day for putting your washing on the line (If I in fact had a washing line, or even a garden for that matter...)

Yesterday couldn't have been more different..

We arrived at the V festival insanely early (2 hrs early) due to obsessive paranoia about traffic that didn't exist. We stood up in the rain for the next 13 hours. I feel like I may be about an inch shorter today.. Maybe will check that out later.. how odd would that be!

Very cold and very muddy, however, all of this pales into insignificance when you are stood about 15 metres away from Dave Grohl and can see the buttons on his shirt.

Ahhh.. and Snow Patrol were so good..

It almost makes me forget the hour and a half it took to leave the car park.

Burning a hole in the pocket it never even reached..

2007-08-02T13:53:00.000+01:00

I really did think that things may work out better financially once I was working..

Deary me, within 2 days of being paid (my FIRST paycheck) I have blown all of the money on a new car. I didn't even need the new car! (although it is very pretty and starts with a button..)

I blame James!

Now I can't buy my nice clothes for the holiday and will have to make do with the things I already own... grr...

Hmm

2007-07-26T13:48:00.000+01:00

Today as I left the house and ran through the rain to my car my sandwiches flew from my grasp and landed in a bush.

Great.

(work going well apart from that!)

Are cats whiskers supposed to fall out?

2007-07-10T16:02:00.000+01:00

Well, have managed to shake off my unemployability curse! I start work tomorrow 14 minutes away in a very pretty office where the people all seem smiley..

Anyway, I arrive home (feeling like crap I may add - body has responded to impending job by giving me one hell of a cold) and find that my cat has got yet another whisker trapped and now seperate from her body in the keyboard of my computer.. This is the second one now? Am quite confused...

Also, after my adventures in the Lake District and then Wales I have returned home to the prospect of my hamster having a tumour. Not v. good..

Sheep shearing in Wales

For those who ever think "how cool would it be to go sheep shearing!" consider this a warning!!!
Last weekend I attended a course with James, Dad and cousin Tom. We were mainly there for Dads friend who has actually bought a flock of sheep but we were all pretty intrigued.

The men showed us how to do it on one sheep as we all stood watching in awe and then informed us that it was "our turn."

Arrrrrgh! It was mayhem! We had to walk into the pen and grab a sheep with our thumb inside its mouth at the back of it's teeth. The next move was to turn the sheeps head back on itself and wrestle it to the ground.

After about ten minutes I managed to awkwardly persuade my sheep to fall over whilst the men stood smirking. Dragging the sheep out on it's back by the leg and the briskit (Which I was calling the biscuit all the way through and no-one thought to correct me) I managed to drag the 5 stone dead wait out of the pen.

The an escapee jumped over my head and ran off.

Clearly terrified (and absolutely knackered) I then managed to cut open the poor things leg.

Please do not worry - sheep was not harmed - I was assured that is normal?!?!?

In total I managed three sheep.

James, in some kind of heroic effort (and much foul language), managed to de-coat 5 of the things. Unfortunately two of which were full of maggots...

Needless to say we all pulled a sickie for the second day and I am still feeling crippled with aches and pains. I have never done anything so gruelling in my life. Hats off to the lads who do thousands of the things!!

Will post some pics later..

Well, that's a first!

2007-06-22T20:59:00.000+01:00

Hurrah!

Not only did I pass my degree (with first class honours I may add) and have officially paid for my holiday, but when I went into Borders I found a new Mike Gayle book. How good is this week getting?!?

Ahh my obviously well remembered Birthday approaches

2007-06-08T18:57:00.000+01:00

Dad: Hey - what's your postcode?

Me: have you not sent my birthday card yet?

Dad: It may be a bit late.
We haven't put any money in it either.

me: Er, ok..

Dad: how many stamps am I meant to put on the envelope? Your mother has bought a ridiculously large card..

Oh dear God, what will be arriving in the post?!? I have visions of needing to collect it from the depot and it needing a roof rack..

You know it's time to find a job when...

2007-06-07T09:50:00.000+01:00

The last 4 items of clothing you bought were £3 or less in a sale
You watch clips of Neighbours on youtube where people like Harold Bishop died
You fall asleep with the cat on you and wake up slightly dribbling
The postman knows that you are in and waits for you to appear when he has a parcel (rather than knocking and walking away)
You begin to download random programmes, such as the F word from 4OD, to watch whilst you eat lunch
Lunch consists of cold spaghetti hoops as you are too lazy with boredom to actually cook them
It's your birthday at the weekend but you can't actually afford to do anything special
You get asked to help your sister dismantle shelves on a Wednesday afternoon
Having a shower at midday is now part of the "routine"
You have a "routine"

sigh...

Ramble

2007-06-06T08:21:00.000+01:00

Presenatation over. Oh god - why did I spend the majority of it talking about how the dog in the picture looked like a pig?!? Hopefully they will have a sense of humour (or pity)

Feel quite sad now. It's strange knowing that the people you were so close to for the last three years won't be there anymore. The people who you went on holiday with, who shared your pain at deadlines, who helped you through the trauma. I'll miss every one of them.

Now I'm going to get a coffee before I get emotional!

(oh btw, never got a chance to blog this - night before deadline I had a flat tyre - outside my uni building. So much left to do and I was stranded waiting for the magical AA man to text me back in the pouring rain just metres from my building. I ventured out to get a coffee from Subway but when I got there they only had hot chocolate. Grr. Lost a whole hour that evening..)

Woooooo!

2007-06-01T18:45:00.000+01:00

At 5pm it got locked in the room. That's it. Over.

Wooooooo!

Cannot believe that I have nothing to do this weekend but things that I want to do!

5 days to go before my life begins

2007-05-27T21:05:00.000+01:00

Holy Crap

5 days.

That is all I have before my project is in.

20 days until my fate is sealed and I am forced to go through the trauma of opening my results in a personal tutorial with my department head (how evil is that?!? I want to open them on my own in the toilet whilst rocking gently to and fro... to and fro...)

Am feeling v. stressed but mostly about how I do not actually seem stressed.. Odd I know, but I have spent the last 16 weeks working on this project and to be honest, I'm not far off getting it done. V. scared about picking up work from the printers.. Having dreams about putting my A1 boards onto the wall and discovering a huge spelling mistake (most probably in my name just to add to my unemployability) and then having to present to the tutors who will think I am completely thick just as they secretly thought..

Not entirely sure what happens once my work is locked in that room. I think I may have a computer free weekend so that I'm not tempted to look at work and notice problems. The concept of "free time" is also something I am not familiar with as I have not had any since A levels. What do free people do? Do you go out to town without the feelings of guilt and actually afford to buy more than two drinks because you have an actual grown up job?

Which leads me to the largest issue which keeps me awake at night. It took me a year and a half to get the job at Sainsbury's. How the hell am I going to find a proper job! Have become bitter to those lucky people who can go on graduate schemes with their guaranteed salary and medical plans. I just want to do what I have been training for for the last 4 years and what I have wanted to do for the last 8. Why must that be so difficult?

But on to happier thoughts! My Birthday approaches, and with it - a trip to the zoo :)

(well I can't think of anything else to do!)

Also having to cope with random family members buying me degree/work related presents or in some cases the certainty that they will actually forget altogether (as have officially become a work-hermit)

Right - am going to sit on sofa and have a nap.. will wake refreshed and ready to work!* My eyes feel fried..

*I don't actually believe that - it's just the only way I can justify sleeping

Now an award winning designer..

2007-05-17T22:27:00.000+01:00

...well, joint second place out of the 11 best designers in the uni isn't too bad!

Have now got to spend my meagre amount of money on a holiday to Venice and essentially send the trustees a postcard of some sort.

Now I just have to pray that the picture of me does not appear in the Birmingham Mail (Needless to say it rained on me on the way to the Jewellery Quarter..)

if something could put you off having kids...

2007-05-12T14:37:00.000+01:00

Have just got back from the most bizarre lunch ever!

James and I had a coffe and some toasted sandwiches which were v. nice in the Marks and Spencers restaurant. After we had sat down a couple with a toddler occupied the table next to us.

Their child then proceeded to belch his way through lunch. Honestly - I have never heard anything like it! It was so gross that I had to stop drinking for fear that I would throw up!

*shudder*

We were so relieved when they left, although ten minutes later they walked past with the child still doing it!! It reminded me of one of the baddies in my earthworm jim game that threw up fish...

7 hours

2007-05-09T20:45:00.000+01:00

Yep.. The image previously blogged took seven hours to render.

In the end I had to set my alarm and wake up in the middle of the night to check it. V obsessive I know!

Picture looks great though! I have achieved quite a bit today, managing to create a board layout and another 3 images whilst fitting in a Pizza Hut at lunch. Yum.

Ooh, speaking of which, beloved Pizza Hut has been redesigned and now possesses a tasty interior as well as a tasty menu. Resorted to taking sneaky pictures on my phone camera to remember the bits that I liked. How sad. Degree has finally claimed my sanity.

At 5pm I trekked across Birmingham, dragging my soggy laptop bag behind me, and attempted to catch a train. Oh how I loathe the British Rail Network, where the smallest amount of rain can stop a train and a stray leaf could leave me stranded.

Nevertheless, I am now settled at my desk in the groove created in my seat pad, staring out at the rain with that smug feeling of being indoors. I think I shall go make a brew.

Early evening rambles

2007-05-08T21:19:00.000+01:00

The time is.. 21:21.

I have been sat staring at an image loading on my screen for what feels like a lifetime. Well it probably is for the mayfly or something..

One and a half hours of my precious time dissolved into two inches of an image.

How will I get another 14 of these done in 7 days?

It's a strange feeling, being so close to the end. I feel elated - ready to find a job, house, new car. There is just this giant evil shadow (known as The Project) rearing it's ugly head and trampling upon my happy future thoughts. The thoughts that get me on the train and make it fun to sit at my computer. The thoughts that find me with the cat watching James wash the car on our driveway, contemplating what to make for dinner and how nice it would be if we redecorated the lounge...

Oh well, if this is what it takes then I suppose I shall just sit here for the next three hours and watch my future load in front of my eyes.

A fractured life

2007-04-26T19:45:00.000+01:00

It seems that my life is now progressing towards the end of my degree in fortnightly chunks. I have no memory of the last week or so and I am vaguely aware of the late nights.

Mostly I have measured time through my dentist appointments.

I am sat before my computer with three new fillings and £100 less in my account. Bastards.

Anyway..

Just a quick congratulations to my now engaged Brother - I am sorry I haven't spoken to you since my Sister told me but hey - you are obviously more like me! I promise I will tell you about my own engagement in person when you do ;)

Also have had fabulous day where I purchased a new pair of flip flops from animal and have liberated a rat that would have died had it been left to eat poison in next doors garden. He is now happily roaming the fields of Twycross, probably very confused about the strange boy who threw tarpaulin over the cage and threw bird seed all over it..

James has quite a few issues with rats. He came across this particular one last week in the compost heap, threw a banana at it and promptly ran away.

Have taken picture of the Rat (or Roger as I have called him) which I shall post when James gives me his phone...

Wales

2007-04-12T19:58:00.000+01:00

The highlights of my visit to Wales have to be:

1. Grandma explaining that the reason my chocolates on the dashboard hadn't melted was because she believed that the recipe had been altered so the chocolates could be sold in hot countries

2. Grandma fashioning a banana sandwich in the car after buying a loaf of bread in Morrisons

3. The weather being amazing and making me ever so slightly brown

Afraid of my blog

2007-04-04T18:26:00.000+01:00

This may sound odd but for the past few weeks I have become completely irrational! Every time I have gone to either look at a blog or sign in to my own I have felt ill.

Maybe my conscience is stopping me from blogging for the sake of my degree?

Or maybe I'm embarassed to divulge that I was rejected from the job I applied for after a nerve wracking 10 days which made my mouth the focus of an ulcer convention.

Maybe I am also only just recovering enough to tell the world about the trauma that was Halle's 6th birthday party..

There were seven 6 year old screaming/crying/hitting one another for three hours whilst my sister and I sat rocking in a corner, almost in tears, regretting the whole idea.

I should have realised when all of the parents who dropped off their children patted me on the arm and told me how brave I was. They were animals - they had a piniata (no idea how that is spelt! - sorry BG!) which they hacked the limbs off and proceeded to crack it's head against the floor. It seemed to resemble a corpse hanging from the rafters..

Claire had also bought a CD for the party which, in a moment of cheapness, cost only £3. Needless to say this backfired as the songs on the playlist were actually sang by random people - the highlight of which was a gruff male voice singing a mcFly song.

Needless to say I slept for 11 hours that night.

Anyway, I'm allowing myself a break in the sunshine and a catch up on the world.

how? HOW???

2007-03-17T17:31:00.000Z

Oh my god..

I just "lost" theme hospital.. I didn't know you could?!?

Everything was going so well.. I feel slightly dissallusioned (is that even spelt right?)

I'm back baby!

2007-03-16T17:28:00.000Z

Wow..

didn't realise quite how long it had been.

Afterwhat seems like 2 seconds (but was actually three weeks) I have finally come out of the 'research tunnel' and emerged blinking into the hell hole that is 'looking for a job.'

It's the moment I have dreaded for four whole years and it feels like it has appeared out of nowhere and slapped me in the face.

Trouble is I have found the absolute perfect graduate job and it will be 5 days before I learn my fate. I'm so nervous and I only submitted my application ten minutes ago..

"If there is anyone out there willing to employ me - please let me know!!!"

On a plus note - congratulations to my friend Alex who found out at uni yesterday that she is having a baby! Hurrah! V. pleased for them :)

A pilchard doesn't even come close

2007-02-22T19:38:00.000Z

As I stood pinned to the wall of the train with my back digging into the bizarrly placed handrail, a sweaty armpit inches from my head and chipmunk dance music blaring it's tinny tones throughout the carriage, I realised the train service had reached an all time low.

My personal space was now roughly three inches in front of me as I stood face to face with the woman in front, close enough to make out the pores in her skin and hear the music from her headphones. You never know quite where to look when they are leaning on the wall to steady themselves close to your left ear and essentially pinning you to the wall. The train is no place for those uncomfortable in crowds.

In that typically British way we all make small talk about how crowded it is, 34 people swaying around us in the space of one carriage entrance space. The man belonging to the sweaty armpit starts talking lewdly about one of the other women in the train further back and the woman I am attached to looks pitifully towards him.

Walking has proved to be just as ghastly..

This morning as I walked through the streets of Birmingham I almost slipped over on what turned out to be a used condom.

How classy...

Some things are just not meant to be... Like getting to uni and actually brushing your teeth

2007-02-15T17:59:00.000Z

As I exited the shower and threw on some clothes James asked if I could just run him down to the post office to get the FT for uni.

As we left I grabbed his keys, put on a coat and informed him that he would have to go in as I had wet hair, no make-up and hadn't brushed my teeth yet.

Once at the shop James's friend arrived and he went off to uni with him.

With the house keys.

It dawned on me, as I sat helpless on the driveway, that I was a complete state, had no money, no phone and none of my uni work with me.

Oh crap.

I wandered around the garden in a vain attemt to see if there were any hidden keys. There were none.

In the end I ventured up the road to James's Sisters house. Someone was in but reluctant to answer. After three attempts (and about 20 minutes and some emotional brakedown) the door was answered and I managed to call James's Dad, who called his Mum, who gave me James's number which I then rang.

To cut a long story short I ended up driving to Stafford to wait for James to appear from a lecture without any makeup and with crazy drying hair and finally got into the house at half past 3.

Hmmm

It's not every day that you get approached by a giant sperm..

2007-02-13T18:53:00.000Z

Whilst getting my lunch from the neighbouring university I was approached by a giant sperm. Odd..

He gave me a bag of condoms and walked away...

Then a lady from Heart FM decided she wanted me and my friend to give her some sound bites for the news..

Thank god it wasn't Midlands Today...

Anticipation

2007-02-08T20:25:00.000Z

Observations

10:30 pm - no snow

11:30 pm - no snow

4:00 am - no snow

5:30 am - no snow hmmm

6:30 am - SNOW! hurrah!

I awoke (after a night of restless anticipation) to a crisp carpet of sparkling white. Eager to not miss a second of it - in that very British way mostly shown in summer months - I got dressed in my warm clothes and accompanied James's Mum on a walk with the dogs.

In the end I ventured into Birmingham for my 15 minute tutorial (tutor would not accept excuses.. grr..) and braved the trains.

At this point I must complain..

To those in control of Tamworth station - evil gits..

Why oh why did you decide to lock the waiting room?

I stood shivering in the snow for half an hour waiting for my train. Every time a train went through it brought a draught of snow crashing into my face which resulted in my friends at uni laughing at how red my cheeks were when I arrived...

All in all - snow gets the thumbs up :)

Let it snow..

2007-02-06T17:47:00.000Z

The car wash has magical powers over me..

It's so exciting when your in the car and all the flappy things are twirling over you. James was less than impressed though and kept doing his worried face about the wing mirrors.

Who cares if the wing mirror breaks off?

Unfortunately car has come out still slightly dirty.. am toying with the idea of taking it back all disgusted. At least all traces of the "mud incident" have now completely gone..

Apart from car washing joy the rest of my day was a bit non descript - I went into uni for my tutorial, hung around for half an hour and was told they were running a couple of hours late and that I have to come back on Thursday. Oooh which brings me to...

Snow!

According to two independant weather type sources Tamworth will get heavy snow on Thursday! Hurrah!

I shall buy a new snow coat in celebration and get to wear the lovely green bobble hat I got off James for Christmas.. lalalalalaaaa...

IT help desks - are they run by people with no technical knowledge?

2007-02-03T16:59:00.000Z

It's always amusing to listen to James on the phone to help desks..

"I'm having trouble getting a default gateway from my home hub"

"yes, my IP address is.."

"well I can't give you my default gateway as I don't have one"

The greatest part is that he knows more than the person on the phone but has no access to their controls..

He is now currently in an argument with the man on the phone as the man keeps blaming random parts of our network.

They have met their match..

A slight bout of panic

2007-02-02T19:24:00.000Z

As of today I only have one more piece of work to hand in before the end of my degree.

Oh dear God

(on a lighter note - what do you reckon about my background? pretty eh? :)

Feeling drained (literally)

2007-02-02T11:36:00.000Z

I stand up as the Nurse calls out my name and walk calmly to the little room.

"Please sit in the chair."

The Nurse is indicating for me to sit in what I can only describe as a chair of torture. It had things which I put my feet in and weird arms that seemed to fit the shape of my arm.. rather too well..

"Right, so we are taking a blue, orange, purple and grey then.." (I think those were the colours..)

What??? 4??? I thought they would just all share the one sample?

I sit in the chair whilst the Nurse tells me how she likes my vein (it must be particularly pretty as they all say that to me..) and try to transport myself away to a land where I am not feeling dizzy and slightly tense.

I tell the Nurse about evil Nurse in Manchester who drops the cover and rams the needle into my arm whilst picking it up and she gives me simpathetic comments which I lap up.

What seems like an hour later, she changes to the last bottle. I get the feeling I am talking gibberish to her. Once the needle is removed she asks how I am (you look a little pale?) and I inform her that I'm generally quite a pale person.

As I leave I go to book the appointment for my results.

There is a queue of old ladies.

Why must they take so long?

Room spinning slightly.. oh god please not like the Science lesson... (traumatic episode after my TB jab where I awoke to find my entire Science class looking down on me..)

Thankfully I get to the counter and lean rather heavily on it.

Appointment booked I leave in a rather tipsy manner and try to locate James.

Am now sat at home frantically printing out my hand in to take over to Birmingham. My arms look very pale.. How long does it take for the blood to re-appear???

Stuck in the Mud

2007-01-31T20:01:00.000Z

Well, as the dissertation is handed in and I have officially pitched my first design to a real life client I finally have the time to catch up on my blogging...

About a week ago James's Dad rang up to say he was stuck in a field.

We mocked him continuously after we rescued him only to have the same thing happen to us a couple of days after... ahem...

We were investigating Sandon Hall and took a wrong turn onto a single track road which led to a rather intimidating farm. When we realised we were heading for the farm we panicked. After reversing for about half a mile and almost running over 3 pheasants we decided to just turn around on the frosty grass.

James took us onto the grass and unfortunately we hadn't realised there was a giant marsh type thing there.

Yep, James had to run up to the farm and beg for help whilst I sat and tried to become invisible in the car.

A few minutes later James comes sprinting down the lane (I immediately presume the farmer is chasing him and start to try and frantically free the car) and he informs me the farmer is following with a tractor.

An hour later we were home and trying to wash our shame and embarassment, which had taken the form of thick orange mud, from our recently valetted car.

On a new note, I seem to have worked so hard I have given myself an illness.. Having spent the last fortnight in pure stressville I have now got some sort of thyroid problem which feels like it is choking me.. Got to go for blood tests on Friday. (James is making me laugh as he keeps asking if it was his fault - over Christmas I accidentally got elbowed in the neck)

The Twilight Zone

2007-01-26T16:36:00.000Z

Yesterday evening James and I went on a family outing to the cinema to see Miss Potter (very bizarre I know!).

Amy was nearly half an hour late and so we arrived at the cinema with a second to spare before the trailers ended and the film began. As we stood in the queue the girl at the desk began ripping lengths of paper out of her desk. She picked up a telephone and dialed a number..

The phone at the empty desk next to her began to ring.

Eventually a rather lanky young man arrived to her aid and stood pointing at things whilst she continued to pull all of the paper roll from her printer. I supressed the urge to shout "just open the other bloody desk"

Finally the girl sorted it out and we purchased our tickets.

As we walked into the screen we were about 10 minutes into the film.

As the film drew to an end and James and I sensed that the credits were about to roll, we started to prepare to leave.

Credits are now at "Cheif Auditor" and "Legal Advisers" and nobody has left the cinema.

We sit stunned, not knowing what to do in this scenario we sit and try to find the most amusing name on the credits.

The images at the side of the credits have now gone and still nobody moves!

James tells me that he is quite desperate for thee toilet but he can't get out of the screen until everyone moves.

A fit of the giggles begins to set in. Why is no-one leaving!!!

As the credits stop and the lights come on the collection of people around us (mostly in their latter years) begin to walk down to the bottom of the stairs. At this point they then begin to make friends with each other and discuss the film!

So strange! At this point James rushes out of the screen to the bathroom and i dissolve into laughter...

The staff holding the door open looked as confused as we were.

(also - I changed the printer to fast draught today and it scared the hell out of me! It was practically launching paper at my face and I'm pretty sure the whole room was shaking...)

TOW kitty goes to the vet

2007-01-23T20:12:00.000Z

Oh deary me..

Today Kitty went to the vets for her claws to be trimmed and to have an injection of antibiotics.

She was not amused when I removed her from her breakfast and placed her inside a cage. She was also quite upset when I took her up the road to Amy's house in said cage in below freezing temperatures. By the time she got to the vets in Solihull she must have been quite p'd off.

According to Amy my cat managed to turn into a psychopath screaming and hissing and, when detained by two nurses, promptly began to bite everyone. The tried to hold her down with a towel but to no avail.

In the end they put her into a "feisty cat bag." Yes, that is indeed a cat version of those bags that they use on swans..

Who just finished a dissertation? Oh yes, that's right - ME!!!

2007-01-22T20:41:00.000Z

Wahay!

Dissertation done (well, first draft.. getting read by James tomorrow..)

I feel liberated!

Tinged with sadness at cat going to vets tomorrow.. Once again she has managed to produce copious amounts of puss (hehe.. pardon the pun!) in her paws..

Also cat has managed to remove a menu from 3d max and am desperately seeking for a way to bring it back..

Hmm..

(must also use this opportunity to admit that I am an awful person. I was going to enter the cat in a competition to use her as the "new face of purina one" and then pulled out as I got afraid that her original owners would recognise her and want her back. Ahem)

My new years resolutions always begin late..

2007-01-20T16:27:00.000Z

essay word count: 2780 (good as I restarted essay this morning - long story)
Amount of 5 a day fruit and veg consumed: 2 (and a quarter) not very good..

I never like to decide on a resolution without proper thought. I have decided that my new years resolutions are as follows:

1. Must always put full effort into degree work
2. Must not put off degree work in order to sleep on couch
3. Must get up earlier and make an effort with breakfast
4. Must attempt to have 5 fruit or veg portions a day

Well, my will power is lasting out today, I have managed to do half of my essay this morning - meaning I have broken through the mental block barrier! Hurrah!

V. nice tutor woman helped me - I never realised how much help explaining my essay would be in actually writing it! (sounds silly but it had never occured to me..)

Am also on a healthy new year mission. I am so fed up with eating junk, so have decided to try and keep to the 5-a-day campaign. Also, am starting to have home made bagels with philadelphia, watercress and chicken for lunch next week instead of my usual stress food of kinder egg, cherry lips, peanut chunky kitkat and a rather dubious packaged sandwich.

Oooh - on the subject of "the great gale of 2007" - Noticed through blown over fence panel that neighbours wooden summer house was sat upside down on its roof!

On a lighter note, success of essay is a direct result of buying James his nintendo wii. All praise the Wii.. Have been able to sit and work without any form of interruption :)

I've never seen him get so much exercise playing a game..

Finished by Wednesday? It'd have to be a bloody miracle..

2007-01-15T21:28:00.000Z

word count 1900 (ish)

Sat down to do work at 7.

word count is now 1870...

HOW?!?

It seems I can only delete things or replace gibberish with shorter sentances and, as a result, am never ever going to finish this bloody essay.

Following from a previous blog topic elsewhere..

2007-01-14T20:10:00.000Z

The curse of the computer

Someone (namely James) once told me that it is nigh on impossible to crash a mac.

I feel that today I have aquired enough proof to eradicate that theory.

Am cursed. Macs hate me. Am mac devil.

I was writing dissertation on James's (far prettier and more slender) laptop today - he stole mine to watch a million Rocky films - gahhhh - and realised had not saved work for a while.

Pressed the cute little floppy disc icon (why are we still so backward with icons? surely cd or memory stick image is more relevant now?) and the little pinwheel came u.

Stared at it for 5 minutes.

Pinwheel keeps turning and turning. Quite hypnotic actually...

Once I had pulled my gaze away it occured to me that i needed to restart.

This would mean losing a whole page of work. (!)

Luckily had viewed the whole page before saving and if squinting hard enough could make out writing.. So sat down and hand wrote (shock horror) the whole page.

Now i just have to re-type the whole thing..

Post 100

2007-01-11T21:30:00.000Z

Wow, 100 posts.. I feel I am growing up.. have managed to actually stick with something and not get bored!

Well, I think everyone now knows about me and James apart from my Brother and Sister. (I was going to tell them at the weekend when it was Nephews Birthday but there were so many people there and I didn't want to steal any of the limelight from the baby..)

Am now suffering from "work crisis"

Have realised that my dissertation is due in 3 weeks along with my pitch to the Birmingham Museum guys and am rather worried I just wont get it done.. To remedy this I have booked an appointment to talk through my dissertation next
Wednesday just to scare me into getting the bloody thing done!

Tutorial is with new person who is filling in for tutor having mysterious operation. Fill in tutor happens to be called Jane McDonald which keeps making me smirk uncontrollably and am worried I have turned it into a "thing" and now I will not be able to control my thoughts of random outbursts of show shongs..

Anyway, I am going back to my strangly addictive searching for country manor houses....

Sparkle sparkle sparkle

2007-01-05T18:17:00.000Z

How pretty is that?!? He did a good job on his own! Am amazed.. diamond seems to hover unnattached to anything..

Must explain the presence of the photo below.. Just before he asked me we were sat having a (very windswept) picnic and he managed to distract me by indicating how cold the seagull looked - I then jibbered on for a couple of minutes about how the seagull did indeed look very cold and ways in which we may be able to catch him and take him home.. I wonder if he realises just how odd I am?

Anyway, am off out for a meal tonight to celebrate (never realised just how much I hate attention! Very scary telling parents - and Grandma....)

Well, I'm back from Wales...

2007-01-04T22:45:00.000Z

Mrs Kate Tildesley

How odd that sounds..

But I suppose that this giant diamond means I had better get used to it :P

I'll bring more details tomorrow, am knackered!

another Christmas over and a new year yet to come..

2006-12-28T11:25:00.000Z

Somebody should have given me some self control for Christmas.

Have eaten entire box of chocolate cornflake cakes, half a pork pie, weetabix, 2 slices of Christmas cake and a selection of Roses chocolates.. Need to stop eating crap!

Am beginning to feel like a big dense person full of meat and chocolate!

Well, that is over for another year now, hope everyone had a good time. I had a rather chilled Christmas, Ice skating on Christmas eve was probably my favourite bit (a rather timid James was wobbling round the rink holding my arm, his confidence slowing growing, when one of the stewards nearly knocked him over..) James is back at work now, leaving me to graze the fridge, and now reality of workload has kicked in. Didn't stop me going shopping though mwuahahaha! Was very distressing, so many people (glaring, tugging, tripping etc.) and only 3 pairs of trousers in entire store sized 10 long.. In the end I managed to get a suit that had quite a pretty knee length skirt (obviously meant to go down to ankle..).

Well done James!

2006-12-20T10:33:00.000Z

Well, there we are - James has got his place at Warwick uni for next year.

Gah.. have now got to actually look for accommodation etc.!

Am so proud of him!

Am I in Dallas?

2006-12-19T15:13:00.000Z

I wonder if I have just woken up and a year and a half just didn't happen?

Being back at Sainsbury's is v. v. odd. Nothing has changed at all. Well, apart from not having my James there to talk to and watch rubbing his eyes (he always used to stand by the bananas for about ten minutes rubbing his eyes like a cat..v. sweet) Have now got 2 days off which is great (I have "the dissertation" to write over Christmas..) but after Thursday I have 2 more yucky 2-10 shifts..

James is going over to Toms with Stu on Saturday evening for Christmas food and drinks, games etc. and I am stuck at work til 10. Hmm.

At least I have my nice Christmas eve day :)

Have decided now that we will get the train into Birmingham to go ice skating, then get a hot chocolate together before going to get some food. After we get the train home we'll go for a drink at the SO bar in town before walking home :)

Then at midnight I get to open my Christmas eve present!

We do this every year - at midnight we each get to open one present from the other. It's nice to open something without everyone being around. I can't wait til our first Christmas in our own place..

A bit of a ramble

2006-12-15T19:46:00.000Z

James has finally got into the Christmas spirit but unfortunately the tree has took the brunt of it. He seems to have developed a fascination with snow spray. My nice pretty tree is now covered in oddly distributed blobs of snow.

Ah well, he seems happy now at least!

Oh god, that reminds me, I madly decided to cut James's hair today..

It went.. well..

Although I must point out that James is the most impatient person in the world. He was all twitchy and bored which is very unhelpful. I think I did rather well really - better than last time anyway.. (I cut his ear with the scissors)

His hair is now looking alot less lego-man like now.

Anyway, I am slowly psyching myself up for Sunday - my official first day back at Sainsbury's. I had to watch all of the random training videos at training (my favourite was the agression video with the 80 year old man who was going to punch the female employee because the shop had moved some tins)

Am afraid it will be weird and different.. I'm hoping my first shift will be with the people I used to work with. I can't believe it has been a year and a half since my last shift!

Thanks for the Christmas present Grandad ;)

2006-12-13T13:47:00.000Z

Hurrah!

Opened strange scary official letter this morning and blinked madly at it (had duvet eyes..)

Have won £50 on my premium bonds! Weyhey! It's the first month I have had them!

Also went and got hours from Sainsbury's and they are great - 39 hours but saturday, tuesday, wednesday and CHRISTMAS EVE are off!

Just waiting for the third good thing to happen now...

Tis the season to panic wildly

2006-12-12T21:46:00.000Z

Oh my god, time is whirling out of control.

13 days to go.

10 of which I will probably be at Sainsbury's wishing I was not (obviously ruining various peoples Christmas by not having any mushrooms or celeriac left).

That gives me 3 days to get everything done for Christmas! Gah! Have still got.. 7 presents to get! Thank the lord for Boots 3 for 2 mix and match..

V. excited about closeness of Christmas! Hope am not working on Christmas eve.. I would like to do festive type things with James (obviously am quite restricted as cannot do any snow activities -unless I go ice skating at the SnowDome! ooh!)

Ahhh Christmas..

2006-12-10T18:54:00.000Z

Oh how I love this time of year. Everything twinkles, and for a short amount of time even the dowdiest places can look magical.

So snuggly and warm..

2006-12-09T18:10:00.000Z

Wow, didn't realise how long I had left posting for..

Going home is a draining experience. I have to haul my brick of a laptop and all of my bags from uni to the station through all of the criminals by the law courts, past all the people huddling around the bus stops and whacking all of the irritating Christmas shoppers who amble around in groups out of my way.

While we are on the point I would just like to make an observation - why do people with small children feel the need to perform flanking manouvers on you? Bloody pushchairs span across the pavement and mow you down.. Whats more, they never apologise..

Anyway, as I was saying..
I got to my train and realised I had just missed one (the impact of slow shoppers on the ramp..) luckily there was another in half an hour. I wandered down to the platform and train was already there. Result!

Sat down in seat under heater.

Woke up in Tamworth.

Turns out that I had sat on the platform for 45 minutes due to the driver not turning up. My god - I must have been out cold.

When you have nothing much to say, ramble a little

2006-12-04T20:29:00.000Z

I have no conscious thoughts as I type this blog..

In fact, I almost didn't write at all due to this fact.

And then I thought it might be interesting to see what came out.

On Saturday we took a journey up to Grandma's once more. The traffic was awful due to everyone crashing left right and centre on the M6. Part of the plan was to re-live the days of Salford when James would come up really early on a Wednesday morning after my 9am lecture and we would have a day out together, usually at the Trafford Centre. Wednesday was always the highlight of the week. Usually we would go to the cinema at the end of the day where I would cry for the last half hour of the film knowing that when the credits came the day would be at an end and James would head off down the motorway once more.

When we arrived at the queue for the Trafford Centre it stretched all the way onto the M60. James was not amused. (ahem.. I had made us over an hour late..) We crawled down the slip road and gradually made our way closer to the monstrocity of architecture that is the palace of shopping.

It says there are only 17 spaces left. We are in a queue of around 20 cars now. Dammit we have to beat them..

Crap. No spaces left. People are parking on verges..

700 spaces?!? How the hell?

A car park on the edge of the solar system opens and we trek across the car park, past the cargo containers, past the motorway, past the "you are now leaving the Trafford Centre" sign..

Damn it was cold.

Stupid idea to come to popular shopping centre on busiest shopping day of year. But still fun! Looked at lots of pretty things and made many hints.

At lunch we had a meal like we used to. The campest waitor in history served us, he was awful, unnattentive and made us wait ages for our drinks. Needless to say we gave no tip. (embarassed by this we left our money on the table and snook away!)

The film was awful. It was the cheesiest American feel good film I have ever seen and had many morals and Christmas lessons about sharing and being good to one another etc. etc. But it felt amazing to finish the film with a smile.

I relish every day I get to see the end of with James.

That much anticipation will always lead to a little dissapointment

2006-12-01T17:50:00.000Z

WooHoo!

December the 1st!

Woke up this morning (early - had to go on site visit..) with pre-teenage excitement about opening my first door on my advent calendar. As ever, being the product of my Father, I had to wake up James so I had somebody to open it with me.

me: You go first.
James: (looking like a sleep deprived Hamster) Oh its the one at the top.
me: Ooh what's the picture!
James: Homer dressed as Santa...
me: my turn! Oh..
James: What?
me: There is just brown cardboard on my door..
James: Maybe the picture is behind the chocolate..

No. There was no image behind my chocolate. The chocolate itself, however, resembled a gnome.

The word anti-climax comes to mind...

Happy Birthday (for yesterday) Colin! - sorry I forgot to txt until 11pm..

2006-11-29T11:12:00.000Z

What does it say about your life when google adsense advertises "cheese sandwiches" and "canal boats for hire"???

Obviously I am writing an awful lot about these two things!

Shall try to broaden my horizons and talk about non-cheese or canal type things - hard as that may be.
(either that or I will write at least one thing about something odd like "reindeer" in each blog and see what it advertises.. quite intrigued as to how much control i get over those little boxes..)

I love it when everything fits into place..

2006-11-28T18:33:00.000Z

What a great day.

I had a lift into uni off James (equates to an extra half hour in bed)

We have a really cool project - which we are getting paid £60 to design by Birmingham City Council!

We finished at 11 instead of 5.30

Whilst in the cinema with my friends (trying to come to terms with new found freedom) a man came up to me in my seat and asked to speak to me outside.

I immediately though "oh dear god - is something wrong with my card? are they going to shout at me because my phone was actually turned on?!?"

Man stood outside and said "do you believe in getting things for free?"

Was quite surreal.. thought he may offer me a red and blue pill at any moment..

I stuttered something along the lines of "it depends what I have to do" which, in hindsight, may have made me sound like a prostitute..

He then handed over to me four free tickets to see the movie "perfume" at a special screening a week before it comes out! Pretty cool..

I then met James and had Pizza Express, and then found out that if James hadn't picked me up today I would have been at the station for hours as someone had jumped in front of the train I needed (obviously day wasn't great for that person..)

Am going to sit in front of the fire and watch Friends whilst drinking coffee and researching the technicalities of Grade I, II and II* listed buildings

I didn't realise Emus produced healing oil...

2006-11-27T21:08:00.000Z

James was talking to me in the car today (whilst firmly lodged in a long queue of traffic on the M6) and reminded me about one of those times where you want to crawl under a rock and shrivel up.

Last time we went up to Grandma's I was sat on the sofa with James when my Grandma marched up to me declaring -

"Here - put some of this emu oil onto that thing on your face, it will go away much quicker."

I only had a small spot on my face that I happened to itch at that moment, although it did make me feel like I had some hideous growth sticking off my face...

Plus - what the hell is emu oil?!?!?

And yes - that is the same Grandma of terror cracker fame.

On a lighter note - I have an evening off!!!! Oh how glorious!

I presented my project today in front of three tutors in the given time limit of 5 minutes. I have never been so nervous. It went well though...

That moment where complacency turns to panic

2006-11-26T19:31:00.000Z

Well, the weekend was really good. I managed to do most of my work on friday so I was quite laid back about the whole "Monday hand in" thing.

On Sunday (today) I realised that I had forgotten to do alot of work.

Gah.

Am now frantically printing off work (which for some reason has saved the wrong size)

I can't wait till I am employed and I can leave work without this kind of thing happening to me.

On a lighter note -

Hurrah! Coke Christmas advert was on today so have officially declared it Christmas in my world and began drinking from my Christmas mug.. (it is sooo great. It has a reindeer on it that looks like a dog I know..)

Busy busy busy... mainly due to dog

2006-11-24T18:41:00.000Z

Well, trip to York was quite random (lol.. still can't say that with a straight face)

We got to the uni (which was very pretty) and the rain began. I must say though, pretty as it may be, the coffe bar facilities left much to be desired.. - although must point out the technological advancements of the IT post-grad department - their kettle is linked to some kind of touch screen monitor which lets them have a hot drink and takes money from their account!

Must admit though, put that in an art department and there would be mass confusion resulting in someone either bathing screen in coffee or screen being used as piece of "installation" artwork and a new kettle being put next to it...

Quite scared about finding job now.. I may be job hunting in York or Leeds, which is both far away and not particularly hubs of design..

Also worried that the student apartment type accommodation would not let us have the Kitty.. which - lets face it - is the biggest worry of all!

Oooh also had a very festive day today. Absence of James gave opportunity to wrap his presents and then I was on a roll! I must say that this years colour scheme is quite pretty - have gone for turquoise, purple, blue and silver.

As you can tell I had uni work to do. Obviously cannot work in an untidy room so once wrapped, things needed cleaning, polishing etc. Clothes at end of bed finally got put away.. Was just about to start my work (with my coffee and spaghetti hoops) when caught a whiff of bad smell in room and noticed dog had in fact weed on my lovely wicker bin. Grrr. Then spent another half hour cleaning and disenfecting room.

Not happy with dog - he then proceeded to eat the cat's biscuits. When shouted at he jumped with shock and started choking, throwing up biscuits all over the floor - which he then re-ate.

Lovely..

My laptop has it in for me..

2006-11-21T20:55:00.000Z

Hello internet!

Once again the laptop broke, leaving me floundering without the internet.. so so lost..

Turned out very useful as I couldn't procrastinate.

For those who care or even just those who like to look at colourful pictures, here is the fruit of my labour...

And my beast of a model which has left my cutting finger limp and dented by my scalpel..

Model is a whopping 600mm x 600mm. So time consuming it was unbelievable.. but all turned out in the end (must point out today that my friend actually managed to super glue her finger to her model resulting in me having to rub "anti-bonding solution" onto her finger with a cocktail stick)

The ups and downs of a week in my third year...

2006-11-17T17:17:00.000Z

Monday: Spent 5 hours producing my powerpoint for my seminar. grr. Canal regeneration funding and the like. Yawn...

Tuesday: Day before seminar, went to print off a plan in the morning and my computer would not start. It never even got to the loading windows screen. Oh dear God.
Computer diagnosed as buggered by James - this then prompted a nervous breakdown and ALOT of tears from me (all of my work for the last 8 weeks was on there)
James spent 2 hours working on it and retrieved my files. Hurrah!
Turned up an hour late for uni and got told off. (I'm usually an hour early - I have never been late EVER. Evil woman...)

Wednesday: Turn up an hour early at uni for seminar in order to practice and read through notes. (seminar worth 20% of final mark! how scary!)
Turns out I was in fact 2 and a half hours early and had read sign wrong.

Today (thursday feels like it didn't even happen - time going too quickly!) : TTrain took 50 minutes to get to Birmingham. Work had to be on my desk before ten. Alot of pannicking occured! Have been selected for entry in the RSA competitio though! Hurrah! Although now I have to pay £25 just for the priviledge..

2006-11-12T10:58:00.000Z

Last night James got to witness the madness of my former life first hand.

Mum and Dad were up for the weekend and their mate Jeff was throwing a bonfire party.

Everyone there had had quite a bit to drink and when this was combined with the fact that we had a firework store full of rockets which wouldn't be out of place in a professional display and a garden about 4 metres long, it made for a nerve wracking time!

It didn't take long before the first set of fireworks fell over, hitting me in the side whilst I reluctantly used my very pretty umbrella as a shield. (it's a radley umbrella.. too pretty to ruin..)

Erik and Rosie, meanwhile, were sat terrified in the van. And so the evening ended with Rosie clinging to me shaking and James trying to drag a traumatised Erik from the back of the van, pulling off his collar and making my big fluffy boy look like a wimp in front of all the onlooking children.

Very weird walking around Belgrave again.. I swear I have grown about a foot since then as everything seemed so much smaller...

Introducing Herr Fish

2006-11-08T21:05:00.000Z

After a horrid day it went a bit better this evening.

I got my new fish (i couldn't be bothered to take a picture so I drew him on paint.. ahem...)

The Dentist told me I wasn't needed back for 6 months and I got to have a cool x-ray (also did not get charged for check-up or x-ray?!?)

I found out that James's dad is friends with a man who works for British Waterways on regeneration schemes - I have my primary research! Hurrah! Am going round to interview tomorrow... All comes good in the end!!!

Argh! It's all getting too much!

2006-11-08T11:15:00.000Z

Damn working.

And Damn Uni..

This degree better be worth it!

Stupid tutors have decided that our project will be assessed and go through selection for the RSA competition next Friday.

THS tutor has decided that we must do a seminar on our dissertation worth 20% of our mark next Wednesday. (I must point out that we are the first year to ever have this as part of our dissertation)

Have got to create a decent 20 minute powerpoint presentation with a week and a half notice whilst compiling all of my design work to reach the Friday deadline and due to THS tutor have now got to visit the office of British Waterways and take a trip to Manchester to get primary research. Explained this to other tutor who told me I should only do work for THS for a half day on a Wednesday.

Well that is great advice. Apparently I can be in Manchester, visit an office in Fazeley, write an entire script for seminar and create powerpoint slides in 4 hours.

Add this to the fact that I have to visit the dentist again tonight (yes, yet another £15 wasted) and you may be able to gauge the extent of my misery today..

Have been sat at James's uni on my own in the computer room writing up dissertation seminar script for the last 3 hours. Oh god it's so boring!

Alas, tis the end of Mr. Fish....

2006-11-07T20:43:00.000Z

My newest edition - a loveable goldfish called Mr. Fish - passed away this afternoon.

Like many of the fish I had in childhood the cause of death was fin rot.

There is a very wrong and petty part of me that is bitter that it was my fish who died and not James's.

Am ashamed..

Have decided that my next fish will continue his legacy and will be named Herr Fish.

A Date with my Arch Nemesis

2006-11-06T21:58:00.000Z

Oh god, having your picture taken in a photo booth is a traumatic event...

There was a man outside waiting (he was a bit creepy.. very strange leery smile..) so after the 8th count of the woman saying loudly "if you would like to re-take your picture press the green button" I got incredibly paranoid that man would think that I was either crazy, obsessive or just plain vain and just pressed ok..

I'm not even going to show the faceless people of my blogging world the horrific site that beheld me as that slip of shiny paper dropped from the machine.

I swear I've seen that image on crimewatch.

I have a theory that those machines are statically charged so that your hair goes crazy as soon as you sit down. That added to the fact that it appears to defeat even the strongest concealer gave me a haggard, tired and "mad cat lady" look.

Which I suppose I am..

Oooh also! I am being plagued by pond liners! After my sighting about a week ago, where I had to swerve to avoid one in the middle of the road, I spotted yet another today perched on top of a hedge on the road towards Sutton.. Very strange..

Brown? Really? Hmm

2006-11-04T15:57:00.000Z

I suppose it is fate.. I should have waited for advice..

After last post I got all over excited and went and bought some brown hair dye
(about 5 minutes after asking for advice... Ahem)

Did as the instructions said, I even wore the gloves that looked suspiciously like condoms..

After 15 minutes I rinsed off the dye to reveal that it had not done anything!

Infact my hair now looks even more bland than before!

Dammit..

Will have to go to hairdressers after all...

Please Give Input!

2006-11-03T12:47:00.000Z

Hmm

I am at that point once more when I am bored with my hair. The stupid hairdresser woman did a crazy hair style which I hate and am now in the process of "growing out" - yes BG, in the same manner we had to before...

So as I can't have any more hair taken off without fully transforming into my alter ego German Boy once more, the only thing left to do is colour.

Now, my hair has gone into what I like to call it's Winter Coat, where it loses all shine and goes from blonde to a dull blondy-brown.

Do I dye it brown? I would like to.. I think... although I always struggle to pick the right colour (obviously am v. pale and would like to not look Dead) Or do I go blonder? Hmm...

Any input?

I suppose it could happen to anyone.. or at least anyone with a tiny cat

2006-11-03T11:07:00.000Z

On the odd occasion I like to get some housework done.

With a blind cat alot of stuff gets knocked over/spilt/soiled..

Whilst tidying a pile of post on the floor I suddenly realised that at some point the cat had actually managed to climb up onto my neck without me noticing and was now fast asleep on my back.

Gah. Cannot stand up!

I waddled over to the cat hammock and tried tipping the cat off my back but, alas, the cat could not be moved. (lets just say there were claws involved)

Realisation that if this incident happened when I was alone in the house I would in fact be stuck. There is no easy way to remove a cat from your upper back without the aid of another person.

The perils of public transport...

2006-10-30T20:24:00.000Z

When you have a break from public transport it always seems that much worse to go back to
it..

I arrived at the train station puffing and panting (illness has left me exhausted at the slightest
movement) to discover that 2 of the earlier trains had been cancelled and platform 4 was
heaving with angry commuters and irritated shoppers.

When the train arrived it was so full that by the time I had waded through the croud and
reached the train even my slight frame could not wedge into the compartment.

Around 20 minutes later another train arrived and I boarded first (having fought my way there)
. Once on the train I did the polite thing and stepped right to the back to allow more people
on board.

It was there, against the unused doors of the opposite side of the carriage that I got myself
wedged.

Yes, wedged.

A stupid woman with an oversized pushchair rammed her way into the train, running over my
feet with the childs footrest.

She then proceeded to lock the wheels on her pram of terror and walk off up the train with
the child in tow.

Meanwhile I was wedged against the doors with my feet stuck under the pram for the whole
duration of the trip.

When finally the glorious sight of Birmingham arrived, the woman had the cheek to tut at me for leaning on the damn thing!

No-one can beat their Grandma's cooking..

2006-10-29T18:37:00.000Z

I love going up to Grandma's.. there is always lots of pie..

We spent the day tuning in a digibox and then unplugging it again when Grandma didn't want it.

We also ate alot of food. ALOT of food.

Oh I ate alot of pie, but it was totally worth it! Also came home with spare pie and a book which is
the unofficial sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Good day all round! Now I just have to get some actual
work done..

On my day off it seems I enjoy working in other uni's

2006-10-27T17:38:00.000+01:00

I spent yet another day off at Staffs Uni.. I must be the only person in the world who actually goes to a different uni when they aren't at their own.

At least I got some work done! Well, I say some, it is impossible to get much done sat next to
James.

I think he sees it as some sort of a challenge to get my attention away from my work!
Also, have noticed today that James's emphatic gestures are getting more, well, emphatic. Whilst describing something in his personal project he actually managed to hit me on the shoulder.. He's also started doing what I have labelled his "management clap" which involves clasping his hands together in a very slow clap. It fills me with dread. After the clap I know that there is a long winded explanation of something technical coming... it also feels like I am getting the explanation reserved for dumb people (which I suppose makes sense when the subject is financial programming...)

Random journey home involved swerving to avoind a large plastic pond in the middle of the road...

Weird eh?

When it comes to the Dentist, I am transformed into an idiot..

2006-10-25T13:16:00.000+01:00

Me: Hello. I have an appointment at ten to

Dental Nurse: Do you pay for your treatment?

Me: I haven't been in yet?

Dental Nurse: Please take a seat upstairs

At which point I take a seat downstairs and a Nurse has to come searching for me to tell me I am meant to be upstairs.

My Dentist appears to be wearing what can only be described as pyjamas and seems to be Polish. Haven't a clue what he is saying. After a few awkward minutes the assistant looks at me and says sympathetically "please take a seat"

I think they have decided that I am afraid of dentists?!? Oh well, never mind.

Dentist: Have you come for a check up?

Me: Erm, ok. My wisdom teeth are coming and it hurts. (why the hell did I say that?)

My god those gloves were making me gag. I was feeling nauseus (is that spelt right?) from my illness and my head was spinning. I had already had to walk to the dentist as James was using the car.

He poked my gum at the back and told me to take antibiotics and come back in a week.

I stayed sat down.

He handed me a prescription and looked at me in a meaningful way.

Obviously that is what counts as a check up nowadays.. am feeling dissallusioned, don't dentists usually count out numbers? Well, that 30 seconds cost me £15..

The woman on reception told me I had to come back in a week, and so booked me an appointment for the 8th November.

A week? really? Obviously woman is mad, so I nod politely and put in my pin number (incidently I can't use one of those pin machines without smirking now - see post about Holiday day trip to Warwick Castle) and I walk home in the rain...

Those of a nervous disposition - do not read!

2006-10-24T21:37:00.000+01:00

This evening I was happily lying on the sofa watching James do his work when something tickled the lower part of my back.

A verrry large house spider was inside my jeans.

I jumped up and shook it out and James jumped around shouting "arrrr it's huge!"

Strangely enough I am fine about the whole ordeal.. James on the other hand keeps shuddering and flailing

Does anyone have a cure for flu? I don't have the time for this!

2006-10-23T19:53:00.000+01:00

oh god I am so ill

My head feels like it is splitting in half.. May have some kind of flu or virus. Had to ring in to uni
and explain that I was ill and wasn't coming in. Very paranoid that they don't believe me
(even though they joke that I never go home) and I think I wont be in tomorrow..

On a lighter note, when I came downstairs (at 6pm - that's how ill I am!) I noticed that there was
a distinct nibble mark on one of the blades of grass :) Subliminal messaging with your cat really
works!

Well, I am going to go and curl up again now, eyes are hurting from brightness of screen...

Work achieved today? .. minimal

2006-10-22T18:48:00.000+01:00

Ahh the joys of procrastination..

I have a meeting with my tutor and course leader tomorrow regarding my canal project.

I have spent from 12 o'clock trying to start some work and ended up encountering the following issues that needed my attention immediately..

Terrible, evil headache brought on by wisdom teeth gouging hole in gums
Toy shopping with James for various Nieces and Nephews
Tummy ache
Time Team on More4 (oh god I know!)
Helping Audrey place some items on ebay
Trying to give subliminal grass eating messages to the cat
Teaching Audrey how to edit her holiday photos
Watching James play theme hospital
Folding up our beast of a tent (this was a mean feat! Tent was 6m x 6m and had to fit into a small rectangular bag)

I know for a fact that dinner will be ready soon, my headache is making a reappearance and I will want to go for a bath soon...

Am I ever to get any work done?

What's the opposite of alfresco?

2006-10-21T13:03:00.000+01:00

As you may have gathered, I have a teeny tiny cat that I aquired last spring.

She was malnourished, blind, had no hair, no teeth and her nails regularly fell off. After lots of food and attention and a few trips to James's Sister (she is a vetinary nurse) my little cat is looking really healthy.

Unfortunately, due to the blindness, my Kitty can't go outside. I feel quite sorry for her (although she does go out on her lead in good weather) and thought it would be good to grow some of that Cat Grass stuff.

According to the packet the cat would eat the grass and this would aid her digestion and help prevent fur balls. Great!

After 4 days of growth on the window ledge my cat grass is flourishing. Unfortunately all attempts to get the cat to eat the grass have failed. As you can see in the picture she is having none of it..

I am just left with a tray of grass on my desk...

The wonderful world of Barbie

2006-10-20T10:37:00.000+01:00

Children are so strange...

Today I asked my Sister what my Niece would like for Christmas (very early i know, but i have to spread the cost out!)

Apparently she wants the Barbie that scoops up dog poo.

?!?!?

After investigation I have discovered that this is a real toy. She has a dog called "Tanner" who is fuzzy and you feed him dog biscuits. Consequently the dog then "does it's business" and Barbie has to scoop this up. Children are definitely odd.

I must admit however, that I can remember wanting some strange presents.. I remember when I was 4 all I wanted in the whole world was an ironing board. My cousin at around that same age wanted "rope."

Feel free to reminisce!

Clarity at last..

2006-10-18T17:37:00.000+01:00

Earlier today I was driving through Lichfield on my way to pick up James when an old couple almost drove into the side of me on a roundabout.

Was very traumatic - involved an emergency stop and I forgot where the horn was (incidently it was on my steering wheel)

It was just after this, whilst my heart beat quickly, that I had an apiphany...

The Simspons car is pink?!?

A chat to my blog (I'm so bored and lonely!)

2006-10-18T11:10:00.000+01:00

Basically I am sat at home all alone. Now I am a people person at heart and although I do like some alone time I do tend to get a bit, well, lonely. So I have decided that I will sit here and witter on for a while in the hope that I will divert some of my boredom and be able to get on with some uni work.

Yesterday was a good day..

I got further with my work at uni (something that seemed impossible on Monday), I got to see James at lunch in Starbucks (which was yummy on both levels) and I had a good laugh.

James spent the afternoon roaming around Birmingham waiting to pick me up at 5. When asked what he had done all afternoon he simply replied "I gave a pound to a tramp on a bridge."

Today, however, I have become all sleepy and lazy. James left for uni at half 7 leaving me to crawl back into bed and fester. Now I know that when James gets home he will want to go and play tennis. If there is one thing in the world I do not feel like doing today it is play tennis..

In an attempt to get motivated I have turned on my laptop and sat scrunched up on the sofa. In a minute I intend on getting a mug of milky coffee (yes - I do understand that this may make me more sleepy but it is so comforting!) and try to get my design into a CAD plan. At least I will have achieved something today!

Ooh must also take a trip to the bank - I had a phone call on Monday from a strange Birmingham number.

"hello, am I speaking to Kate?"
"Yes, hello...?"
"Hi, I'm from the BIAD faculty office, we have had a cheque arrive for you from your LEA"
"Ooh! OK! I'll come and get it!"

45 seconds, 3 flights of stairs, a trip through the canteen and a trek down a bizarre glass corridoor and I was at the office.

The man seemed shocked that I was there so quick.. I informed him that he would also be that quick if someone was giving him a cheque he didn't have to pay back.

In that respect I have got to say that I am eternally grateful to Wales. They give me money for free, almost like some sort of parental figure of a country... I must say though, I am starting to get quite freaked out about uni coming to an end. In 8 months time I will be in a state of panic.

At Christmas I intend writing to companies explaining my position and requesting interviews. Hopefully I can find somewhere willing to take me on from July. This part of the plan is the part most fragile and prone to failure.

It is a given thing that I have always been unemployable. When I get a job I am a model employee, I am always on time, I get my work complete and I do this to a high standard. Unfortunately I tend to turn into a wreck at interview. I laugh too much, I fidget and I get really aware that this is making me seem like some sort of shoplifter with a guilty conscience.

Anyway, this is turning into a mammouth blog! I am sorry! If you have read all the way to here then well done! You have a greater attention span than I!

Furry creature alert

2006-10-16T19:05:00.000+01:00

On leaving the uni building my friend screamed out making us all jump back in alarm.

A squirrel had just leapt out of the bin at us..

A rant about a bygone era..

2006-10-15T13:31:00.000+01:00

On the walk home from the station I nearly broke my neck stepping on what turned out to be a conker. This saddened me on many levels - I nearly fell over in front of many people - most of which were pre-pubescent and would have felt immense pleasure pointing and laughing.

The saddest part however, was that the conker was there at all. When I was little, finding a conker was one of those magical moments, seeing it there on the floor with its marvelous chestnut brown armour gleaming through the grass. We used to go for miles around searching for a conker, soaking them in vinegar and hiding them in the airing cupboard - anything to make them invincible.

Is it just that we live in a society so obsessed with risk assessment that the children no longer continue this age old tradition, or is it just evolution? Are the simple pleasures of discovering your first conker, hidden beneath a lime green pin cushion of a shell, just a distant tradition overtaken by technology? Why bother going to all that trouble when we can play virtual conkers on our PSP eh?

Well I have taken it on as my mission to pick up all of the conkers I see lying unwanted and abandoned, even if they aren't treasured by society any more - I will not leave them to rot on the pavement.

What a sad end to childhood.

Oh James.. you come out with some classic speako's...

2006-10-14T20:06:00.000+01:00

Me: "It's steaming up in here"

James: "don't worry, I've put the air onto circumcise.."

The tennis bag with many uses...

2006-10-13T11:38:00.000+01:00

It struck me the other day that James's tennis bag really reminded me of something...

A day of extreme weather and destruction to property..

2006-10-11T12:56:00.000+01:00

This morning, as James and I lay snuggled in bed (incidently the alarm had gone off three times already..) there was a crash - bang noise from the direction of Hugo's cage.

From the bed we have quite a good view of our small furry friend, who had managed to destroy the roof of his house and was seen to be looking out of the wreckage with a look of confusion on his face.

The poor baby had also managed to trap himself on the top floor of his four storey mansion by covering his escape tube with the discarded roof...

Needless to say we started a campaign to rebuild the house which resulted in James dismantling the cage and me having to fix it again..

Also - journey to uni was amazing today! As James is now a basket weaver again (term used loosly) I have access to the car every other week again! Travelling through the glorious sights of Birmingham and passing under the M6 it began raining like fury. Lights on, wipers full I continued until I hit a snaking queue of trafficby Star City. I was sat on the dual carraigeway with lightning striking the gas towers in front of me and the train track to the left.

I must admit I adore the violence and beauty.

(however, I was bricking it slightly as was sat in large metal car)

local news - is it really neccessary?

2006-10-06T18:50:00.000+01:00

Today I opened the Tamworth Herald and flicked through. One story spoke of the police and how they are keeping the canalside in town "yob free."

Alongside the article is a picture of two police officers looking rather pleased with themselves. Unfortunately in the background on the opposite side of the canal you can just make out an image of a "yob" giving them the finger...

Midlands Today (our regional news programme) is also in the line of fire - how unneccessary is this programme? Today we had story about how we shouldn't feed the ducks bread (including an interview with a man saying to feed them corn) and then a poem written by a man who was made redundant...

Victory for the common commuter!

2006-10-05T19:32:00.000+01:00

Hurrah!

I got onto my train this morning - dripping wet I may add - and took a seat near the door. As the train pulled away from Tamworth a teenage boy pulled out his phone and began to play what I can only describe as "Chipmunk Trance" music at full volume.

Needless to say everyone in the carriage was mortified, and too afraid to approach the young whippersnapper.

About ten minutes into the journey however, a business man in his twenties got up and declared "I've had enough!" and proceeded to tell off the lad, who looked quite embarassed.

I could feel my sanity increasing once more...

Idle thoughts from an idle mind

2006-10-04T11:24:00.000+01:00

Well, so far I have spent my day off at uni.. unfortunately not even my own one.

Work achieved: very little (ie. none)

Strange occurance yesterday - whilst walking to the train station I walked past 3 boys going to school. After they walked past one said to the other "that was Kate"

Am very freaked out - how do boys of about 14 from a random school know me? hmm..

Holidays are comin' Holidays are comin'...

2006-10-03T20:15:00.000+01:00

Maybe I have gone back in time..

Today we were "told off" at uni - apparently we can now only eat between the hours of 1 and 2.

How odd?!

On a lighter note - Christmas has come to Birmingham!

Now, those of you who know me will understand (or at least come to understand soon) just how much I adore Christmas, but the 2nd of October? Surely that is too soon? Should I have started writing cards or buying presents? I have not even seen any fireworks go off yet! I'm so confused/happy/distressed...

Hmmm..

2006-10-02T19:32:00.000+01:00

My train was delayed due to a medical emergancy (although hard to say what medical matter could affect a train..) meaning I didn't arrive home til after 7 (grr)

Upon taking my trainers off I noticed that my socks were stuck fast to both wounds on my heels..

So here is my question:

Is it better to do the old 'whip the table cloth off' routine and just go through the pain in one quick motion? Or am I better to just slowwwwwly tease my sock from my foot?

Any views welcome...

The hidden perils of shoes..

2006-10-01T13:54:00.000+01:00

Oh I hate my shoes..

I was walking up Corporation St. on my way to uni. My feet felt raw. Evil Clarks shoes turned on me in spectacular fashion leaving me crippled and limping up the road taking out my pain on unsuspecting beggars.

Then it appeared in front of me and I knew what it was all about.

I entered the shop and staggered up the metal staircase. The foreign woman upstairs with the good hair gave me the small black box and I thanked her. (even though she pointed out that I was buying something from the mens section)

Oh it felt so good to put on new trainers...

(brownie points to those who know my whereabouts just from the description above - I'm guessing BG knows what shop I was in - they gave me a coupon for 20% off my next purchase *dribble*)

Imust admit, I rather enjoy being back on my daily commute..

2006-09-27T20:49:00.000+01:00

Childrens toys appear to be very misleading nowadays..

I was watching the TV earlier when an advert informed me that "children like to bounce up and down - and so do zebras"

hmm.. interesting image..

The case of the missing website..

2006-09-26T21:11:00.000+01:00

Email from my Dad.

"Hi Kate, thanks for the email, unfortunately I can't find my website so I can't give you any comments yet. Here are some pictures..."

I am curious - how does one "lose" a website?

I am issuing a test! If you cannot view this website please let me know! (it is still under construction and may appear distorted! do not worry - it is being dealt with by James!)

www.ajm-pembrokeshire.co.uk

Apologies for random spellings in previous post

2006-09-25T19:46:00.000+01:00

I am sorry all you spelling freaks out there - I am very tired having had 10 hour day after 4 months off - as a result I am typo-ing everywhere.

Pls ignore

Brain Ache

2006-09-25T19:36:00.000+01:00

Oh dear god!

First day of the last year.. I feel like my brain has exploded. We were in for an hour before the first project began resulting in me having to present to the group exactly what my proposal for this new project was. We used to get a week for that - this year we have 2 hours!

Still, it was nice to see everyone again.

This year I am glad to say that I have no crazy foreign tutors. I have gone from last year (the year of Cyril - ie. NO tutor) to 3 tutors! Hurrah!

Unfortunatelt we don't enrol til Wednesday meaning I will have to wait for my loan *grr*

Anyways, back to my brainwave of a project! If anyone else happens to be applying for the same competition for the RSA then please look away now ;)

"The Value of Water"

Odd topic but there you go. Basically we have to produce an exhibition stand which represents, somehow, the Value of Water.

My stand would float accross the Midlands on behalf of British Waterways promoting the regeneration and possibilities of using the canals of Britain - of which there are over 1500 miles - as a means of transportation, thus cutting down on congestion and therefore pollution.

Watch this space.. RSA award winner.. I like the sound of that! :P

How very odd?!

2006-09-24T16:12:00.000+01:00

I was sat at my beautiful desk tapping away on my laptop (crazily trying to remember how to use autocad ready for start of semester tomorrow) when I looked up and saw this big hawk-type thing looking at me and squarking.

How weird

Man walking past my window holding a bird of prey whilst walking his dog..

Very cool though...

Those who know me understand the madness

2006-09-23T15:59:00.000+01:00

me: We have our fish now

mum: What did you get?

me: A goldfish and a lionhead goldfish

mum: What are they called?

me: Howard and Mr Fish

mum: That's an odd name... Howard.....

And there resolves my argument with James that Mr Fish is an adequate name for a goldfish

Announcing the arrival of Howard and Mr Fish

2006-09-22T16:15:00.000+01:00

Today we brought home two little fish - Howard (James's) and Mr Fish (mine) - I would like to point out that the object to the left is not in fact a dead fish but a biro...

(what is going on with the crazy weather?!? Our garden and driveway has flooded again and sewage is squirting up like a whales blowhole in the field in front?! Bloody global warming...)

Major point no. 2

I have done the unthinkable..

I have had a fringe cut in again! dum dum durrrr!

(although as you can tell by picture it is taking some getting used to.. have already started parting it in a manic fashion)

Major point no. 3

Have had an awful week.. I went out with James's sister Amy on Saturday and have felt like crap ever since (must add a note of thanks to James here who stayed up with me whilst inebriated and ill and made everything better)

Major point no. 4

Hurrah! I no longer have Crazy Tutor Woman next year! Hurrah!

Major point no. 5

For those following the growth of my Parents extention - we have the floor joists for the first floor in place. Also, builders managed to build the house the wrong size and shape but it has all been resolved now!

Back from the void..

2006-09-21T21:33:00.000+01:00

Wow this has been a long week!

Since saturday my internet connection has been down, and after 6 days, 3 hours of phonecalls to BT, 2 complaints and half a phone line we discovered that James had plugged the cable into the wrong socket...

Will fill in the 6 day void tomorrow, am knackered

It confuses me when half of the waxwork models turn out to be people..

2006-09-15T19:19:00.000+01:00

Today was our Holiday Day Trip!

Location: Warwick Castle

Today we managed to navigate our way to Warwick and find the entrance to a very large castle.. James then proceeded to embarass himself by pressing lots of buttons on the chip and pin and realising his card wasn't even in. He then knocked the keypad off its stand putting the card in..

Day of fun, we wandered around the castle taking in the sights of battlements and armour, trying on various helmets (see image of James below)

Highlight of day -

Strange exhibition of archery by a man (who reminded me of Brian Connely) reinacting a battle single handedly..

A trebuchet firing a blazing boulder

Also, the peacocks (they had baby peacocks!)

Where is a bloody ark when you need one?

2006-09-14T17:19:00.000+01:00

Came home from Wales in nightmare rain journey, unpacked car and ran into house. Within 5 minutes we had become marooned in the house!

Luckily after half an hour it had subsided enough to allow us access to the car so we could go for the MOT test..

The Journey Home

We made the decision this morning to take the "scenic" route home. Unfortunately this ended up being a view of a cloud enveloping us for 4 hours..

Memories

This morning I woke up at 6:15am to my Dad turning on kids tv at volume 30. It seems a crazy thing to miss but I do, it kinda sums up my memories of living at home..

On that note - a couple of pictures from my trip to sunny Wales..

Homecoming

2006-09-12T14:58:00.000+01:00

At last...

My parents will be home in little under 2 hours. The dogs are still alive, the cat has not ran away and I still retain most of my sanity.

I must apologise for not writing, James had his Macbook delivered and has since been hogging the power source and internet. (I must add that I am creating a voodoo van of UPS, evil people have lost the package containing my iPod nano! Lost it!) According to their internet tracking system it is still due to arrive on the 5th.. I must discover the power of time travel which they must posess.. Anyway, enough of the bitterness!

Round up of Yesterday
We went to Porth Clais yesterday, very pretty (although not alot there really) there were some big lime kiln ruins and a harbour wall which I sat on for a bit until James started having panic attacks that I would fall off.
Have tried to add a picture but the "done" button wont load and therefore it wont add!

Building update - Builders missing and presumed drunk

Have not seen builders since thursday. House is still as it was last post although a man appeared today and tidied up (it seems most people are scared of my Dad and his wrath!) Apparently they will be coming back thursday to build up to the roof (I'm presuming that it will take more than one day to do so.. but they were very speedy!)

Anyway, got to go, I have lots of mopping and hoovering to do in antiipation of their return!

Bit of a dilemma..

2006-09-07T19:06:00.000+01:00

Oh I am so crap at saying No to people (although not in that sluttish way you were thinking)

Just agreed to go into town with one of Mum and Dad's friends tomorrow at 10am.

I'm perfectly OK with that part.

Slight problem occurs when my Dad has paid the boy next door pity money in order to take me out during this week. (I highly doubt anyone can top that one for embarassing parents) As it is in fact Friday tomorrow, and he has not come over yet, it kinda suggests that maybe he was going to come over tomorrow - and I will have to look like a fool and say:

"thats OK, I went with a random lady who phoned me instead! just keep my Dad's money - I have purchased all that I require from Tesco!"

(bear in mind that the first time I met him I was wearing my Dad's bright yellow road worker jacket, a black summer hat and was digging a trench in his driveway)

Oh well... I only see him about three times a year! who gives a damn eh?

At least James gets here tomorrow - hurrah! With a lovely car that we can drive anywhere without the need for charity..