Rent day... Can he afford it? (27/3)

The answer to that question is...yes...but also...no. Yes. I can afford to pay rent - but seeing as how the damn money machines won't let me take cash off my credit card, I don't quite have the funds to pay... I have, however, found a saving grace (i.e., money has been borrowed), BUT (yes, I know I have a big butt - get over it, already ;) )...transferring money online obviously takes longer in a more populated country. It was done last night and it's still not in my account. The short version of this sad, pathetic story is that I'm going to be late paying my rent (hopefully only a couple of days late - I'm checking constantly to see I've hit the "magic mark" in my balance and then I'll pay it). Bummer, huh?

In yesterday's entry I mentioned feeling dizzy and having a sore neck. Yeah, well the dizziness returned today (though by lunch it seemed to have vanished, thank God). The sore neck came on again around 3-ish. I think I've worked out what the problem is though. I have a wee feeling I'm coming down with a cold. I think this because my throat sounds a wee bit funny and my lips are drying out and starting to crack (which is usually a sign I've either been out in the wind for too long, or I've got a cold). Oh, and did I mention the whole 'breaking into a sweat just by moving'? Yeah. I noticed yesterday I was a wee bit sweaty, but thought nothing of it (not even when I fell asleep at 7pm last night and woke up a couple of hours later, drenched), but when I got home today I thought it was about time I swept the floor. Before I get to the next bit, I just use a wee hearth brush to do the job - it's really not a big room! Today I had to sit on the floor to do it as the bending down was killing my head. Even sitting on the floor, you should've seen the sweat! I just realised how disgusting this entry is...over it! So, yeah. Dizziness, sore neck, sore throat, sweating, general tiredness all equates to a common cold in my world. Self diagnosis! Who needs those medical doctor-type people? Hmm, prescription? One panadol, three times daily, and keep up the fluid intake. See? Doctor, schmoctor!

I called the recruitment lady back today. She wasn't in. She called me back. I missed the call. I called her back. She was engaged. She called me back...and I answered! (it was on my lunch break). See, this is why people should email me! I'm more likely to be at the other end (okay, so my mobile's in my pocket all day long, I just have the volume turned down at work - which reminds me, funny story about the mobile to come). I said yesterday that it was going to be very ego-boosting for me, and boy was I right! She ranted about how Richard thinks I'm wonderful (I could've told him that if he'd asked!), how he thinks I'm so efficient (gimme a couple of weeks), I'm so polite to people (pleased he didn't see that email I sent to my supervisor then), how the academics think I'm great (well, duh! They're bright people!), how my supervisor can't believe how quickly I've picked everything up (I've picked stuff up? Oh, that pen I dropped - you have to pick them up quickly in this office! I'm now down from five to one!), how I get things done so much quicker than he expects (he really must have low expectations of me), and how he commented that I fit in so well with everyone else in the office (I think he might've meant that the seven of us who went out for lunch on Friday all managed to fit into the booth!). All in all, a very good phone call to receive. Then she asked how I was liking the job. I was honest and up front. Told her I didn't really want to end up working in a university while I was over here, but I was thoroughly enjoying things! Liked the people & the relaxed atmosphere etc. Then she said she'd be calling the boss to give him my feedback. Umm, hello! That wasn't in the contract. Fortunately, her telling me after the fact meant that she could say that I was genuine and not only saying it because it would be fed back to him - which I would've done, had it not been the truth. She now says that she'll leave it for a couple of weeks to see how things are going and if the boss is still as happy with things, then she'll try and push for extra money (or even a longer term contract) - meh, I'll play things by ear.

Work? Yeah, went in. Played. By 1pm I was finished all I could do on the website, so pottered around (until a couple of emails came in - that I *had* to reply to before I left for the day...damn me having to have an empty inbox! It means I work past my finishing hours, which is one bonus of temping...there's a definite quittin' time!).

Now, funny story about the mobile! It's not really that funny, but I've got to wind you in somehow! I don't have an alarm clock so I've been happily using my mobile (which is great 'cos it means I listen to music when I fall asleep and I like that). This morning I think I must've been a wee bit away with the faeries when I woke up. The mobile's alarm went off as normal (a Nickleback song - just so I hear the thing) and bugger me days! It was right beside my ear (not either in my hand or under the pillow where it usually is). I got such a fright I flicked it away from me (the kind of arm flapping motion you do when you're shoo-ing flies and bugs away from your face) and it ended up flying under the wardrobe. Volume was quite loud and I still had no idea what the bloody hell was going on (I wonder now if I even knew where I was!). Eventually got up to it. The song must've been playing for nearly a minute in my ear before I registered it - when I picked the phone up the song had been playing for 1.5 minutes! Loudly! At 6 in the morning! Oops. My bad. Won't happen again (I hope). Anyhow, I sat back down again and dozed off. My whole morning's routine was out of kilter...grrr. Never mind. The day's over now.

Seeyabye

Oh, bollocks! (26/3)

Good subject line, huh? Today's wonderful installment has been called "Oh, bollocks" because I haven't actually written up my entries since Thursday, which means I'm forced into the terrible position of having to bloody well think what it was I've done the last few days. It's tough walking in my shoes (I'd recommend it, but they pong a wee bit ;) ).

Today can essentially be summed up thus: Got up. Felt all dizzy. Went to work. Felt all dizzy. Did some work (eventually! - managed to surf the web for nearly an hour before anyone came to see what I was up to...and fortunately I'd opened some documents when I first got in, before getting side-tracked online, so it looked like I'd been working. Still felt dizzy. Went to lunch (well, went to the bank to completely max out my credit card to pay the rent, but for some reason it wouldn't let me...which put me in a difficult situation - hopefully remedied in the morning (NZ time)). Still felt dizzy, but now my neck was all stiff and sore. Did work. I have a week to create a website - and they're apologising for not giving me much time to do it. It's just about done. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow it will be done. Hopefully by the time I go to bed I won't feel dizzy or have a sore neck! I reckon the neck is a combination of a possible uncomfortable night's sleep (I feel I kept waking up, but I'm not sure) and sitting on an uncomfortable chair at work (I'm switching chairs tomorrow!).

Had a good chat with the office administrator (an Aussie chick) this morning. She's a real hard case! She's flicked me a couple of links for weekend trips and recommended a few of them, and they're quite cheap - only around £150 for the weekend (all travel, food, accommodation included). They've got trips leaving virtually every Friday night and coming back on Sunday nights (or Monday nights if it's a long weekend). I'm keen to have a look at some of them :)

Missed a call from the recruitment consultant, but she did leave a message. Apparently it's "imperative" that I call her back as soon as she gets into work tomorrow (right, like *I* know when *that* is!). She was all excited because she wants to give me feedback from my boss. I'm guessing, from her message saying that "he really, really loves [me]" and my supervisor thinks "[I'm] great", that it's going to be very ego-boosting for me (unless that was just a rouge to get me to call quickly...). All I'm doing is what's asked of me (and surfing the Internet when I feel like it)... Get a life people.

Came home, not quite as dizzy, but neck was a lot worse and drugged myself up (well, I took a panadol). Another one before bed and I'll be back to my normal (!?!?) self in the morning.

Okay. Time to make dinner (while I think about what I did over the weekend...).

Seeyabye

Lost. Completely & utterly Lost (25/3)

My normal Sunday routine: up early & down to the laundry. I'll be royally pissed off the day someone else catches on to the fact that 7am Sunday morning is a good time to use the washing machine. Today I sort of anticipated that there wouldn't be any problems, what with daylight savings starting here :) While the washing was on, I went for a walk around town a bit. I'm enjoying this early morning walk. Back home, got my stuff and hung it up in the room. Ended up watching one or EIGHT episodes of Lost (since I don't have Sky, I can't watch it). It's good - I've just about caught up. Only another 4 more episodes and I'll be up with the play. Been trying to download House & Prison Break as well...but knowing me as I do, I'll end up getting them on DVD at some point.

Sadly, that pretty much sums up my day - laundry, Lost...and reading a couple of books. Nothing exciting, eh. Oh, I did type up the notes I took yesterday at the library (about 12 pages it turned out - not bad for me ;) ).

So, there we go.

Seeyabye

Sitting & reading (24/3)

Well, after having a lovely wee sleep in (well, to 9am), I surfaced and then pottered around before heading into the Institute of Education's library. I've been looking forward to getting into their resources, and now I have! I'm a "research associate" member (i.e., freebie!). Only problem is I can't take books out, which isn't really a problem, and I can't access their electronic resources. This pisses me off, sadly. Spent about 4 hours there reading and sifting through the shelves. They have 5 floors of resources! It's like being in heaven. The best part, for an education library, is that they don't have a hell of a lot of kiddies books - they've got a bit, but not to extremes. It's a real 'academic' kind of library with some amazing stuff. I'm going to make it a weekly visit - try to spend at least one day there a week (or if I happen to go away for a weekend, then an evening or two). I was surprised at how productive I was there. Admittingly, I could've been more productive if so many interesting books hadn't jumped off the shelves into my hands ;) Nah, I spent a bit of time just trying to get the lay of the land, so to speak.

It was a nice looking day outside so I didn't worry about taking a jacket with me, just my short-sleeved top. Once again, everyone else was all wrapped up against the cold (there was a wee bit of a nippy wind, but nothing worth throwing a coat on for!). I can't get over how soft they are over here ;)

Wandered around, came home and started to read a book and then something really odd happened. My eyes were forced shut by this powerful force...and I drifted off to sleep ;) Woke up when the phone rang - talked to Mum for a bit and then it was bed time.

I wish I had a few quid up my sleeve, just to do something different. Nevermind - next week is pay day! Hallelujah!

Seeyabye

Wet lunch day (23/3)

Yay for casual day! Wore what I'd normally wear to work back home. I'm pleased I didn't wear jeans - it's fine for the girls to wear jeans, but not for the boys (bloody sexist environment ;) ).

About 7 of us went out for a wet lunch. That was good - up until the point that I was tested on names. Damn them. Excluding me, I managed to get half of the names. Even now, I'd only be able to get 5/6...there's one I can't recall. Oh well. 'Hey you' works nicely. We were there for about an hour and a half (not that long, but timed so that by the time we got back, the boss would be gone ;) ). I wish I would've been allowed to go home after lunch - I did nothing but surf the net. There was no work doing; no emails coming it. Dead quiet it was. But yet we all had to stay on. If every Friday ends up like that, I'll be happy though ;)

Not sure what the plans for the weekend will be - the plan is to go to the library at one point (Sat? Sun? Who knows?).

Seeyabye

Subject? Who needs a subject? (22/3)

What a thrilling day today was! I pretty much sat at the desk all day squeezing classes into rooms for timetabling. I wish lecturers would stop changing their minds though, it makes for a difficult process. Fingers crossed it'll all be done tomorrow (given others need my info tout suite).

Had to laugh, one of the women walked past me at one point and asked whether I was aware that Fridays were "International Dress" day (one person, randomly chosen, gets to wear their national costume into work on the Friday). Guess what! It was my turn. I very swiftly replied along the lines of: "Thank you for the very polite offer, but I think I'll continue to wear shirt & tie if it's all the same to you" (i.e., "bite me, noddy!"). Fortunately, Friday is a casual dress day (I hope - they better not be yanking my chain!).

Come lunch time, I went for stroll to the bank (having searched the Internet to find out where the nearest branch is). It's only a leisurely 10 minute walk each way (or, if you happen to be me, about 25 mins to find your way there!). Pulled the max I could for the day from the credit card (which is only £300) and put it into the bank account to help pay for the rent. The last £50 I need I'll get tomorrow. Now that the credit card's maxed out, and the bank account's been drained (well, it will be come Tuesday), I'm officially flat broke! Actually, not quite true. There's enough left on the credit card to pay for next week's tube pass. Fortunately, I do get paid next Friday. Phew!

Thought I'd be productive when I got home tonight. Decided it was time to defrost the ice box in the fridge. Let me tell you something for nothing, that 'berg what did sink the Titanic had absolute nothing on the 'berg that's in my fridge! I had the hairdryer going flat out on it for about 15 minutes (oh, in case you're wondering, the hairdryer was left behind by the bird what lived here before me (and who obviously didn't bloody know how to defrost the ice box!)). It hardly even made a dent in the ice. I'm not kidding you - it's bad. The door to the ice box is broken where the ice has pushed it out of place! After about an hour of chipping away at it, I threw my hands up in sheer frustration, swore, and have given up on it (until the weekend). I almost filled the sink right up with what I've managed to get off so far (which is just under the bottom of the ice box). I also discovered that there's a plastic tray (for catching drips?) under the ice box (you couldn't see it before for the ice!) and an ice cube tray. Very exciting stuff. Will keep you posted on the progress - I might find a lost mountaineer or Yeti or prehistoric person or the likes. On that happy note, I might just sign off.

Seeyabye

Happy 29th, Cass (21/3)

Next year you'll be my age - then you'll be suffering. Mind you, that said, you'll always have the satisfaction of knowing I'm older than you. Bah humbug.

Went to work. I did. I can prove it. Worked and worked and worked today. I'm now allowed to send emails and stuff on my own (I don't like this game now). Nah, short of getting poxy with academics who change their mind JUST as I'd worked out a whole week's worth of scheduling (in the grand scheme, it's not much - it took me nearly all of the bloody morning though!). This resulted in a flow on effect. Long story. Very boring. Other than that, the timetabling is kinda fun. It's a challenge (and a challenge I like!). I set up a spreadsheet with a template for me to use; my supervisor was most impressed (and I've had a couple of positive comments from lecturers as well).

Took my lunch break today (I'm allowed to start at 8.30 and knock off at 4.30 - but I'm not allowed a reduced lunch break; s'ok - I get to leave early and the starting early doesn't phase me none). Went up to Hyde Park - it's only a 5 minute walk away. I decided it was too bloody cold to go for a walk around it (despite the sun beaming down), so found a bench (which actually was rather warm) and read my book. Went back to work and continued with the work thing. Despite my grumblings, I am enjoying the timetables...but also just being at work! I have to laugh though. This is only the office for medicine (undergraduate, at that) and they have about 20 admin staff. Apparently, before I started, there used to be heaps of empty desks. When I started, there was one...but someone is starting up soon (a permanent) and they're going to be sitting there. This meant that my desk is actually one of two "hotdesks" - desks where academics can sit when they're waiting for meetings etc, or where staff from other campuses base themselves if there for the day. It sucks! I have no space to put anything. The boss has, however, okayed me sitting at the empty desk (he doesn't think it 'looks good' having me sitting at a hot desk when I have so much to do with the academics (well, I don't yet, but I will be soon)). Tomorrow I move. It'll be cool though because it's an open-plan office with four bays of four desks, so I'll have friends - not just sitting out in the open on my lonesome. Up sides: friends, space, closer to the door I come in, drawers. Downsides: the other end of the room to the water filter, I will have a telephone (calls are going through my supervisor at the moment and he's dealing with them; also, I'd have to learn how to use it - picking up other people's calls etc). So, yeah.

Came home, got my pay slip from last week's temp job. 7 hours - £49. Hardly worth it really; okay, I enjoyed it, but the money was shite. There was my contract for this job (and the letter said my job description was enclosed - uh huh, there isn't one! It also talked about when I start, how to get there etc - uh huh, a bit late! It also referred to my job title as a PhD Administrator - uh huh, not even (I think my title is: Curricula Administrator: BMedSci - or something like that; I can change it to whatever I want to). And there was some junk mail about how my phone number is going to be removed from some list - whatever, Trevor. I missed a call today. I don't know whose number it was, it doesn't look familiar. I haven't given my phone number out to many people. What's that aboot? Replied to a couple of emails - that's fun, trying to think of things to say to people (me? Lost for words? It can happen, y'know). Then I went and got groceries. Honestly, I swear I'd rather have my teeth pulled. I hate it! Hate it with a passion! I have worked out, in the last say month I've been in the flat, that I've spent about £130 on groceries. Of that, a good £50 (at least) has been on fruit. Oh well, I'm getting my 5+ a day at least ;) Is it hard to tell that I've run out of things to say now so am just talking for the sake of filling up a bit of space on this page (which, in turn, will be filling up a bit of space on the Internet)? Thought so.

Seeyabye

PS: oops - thunked I did do the posting of this yesterday night - but didn't...slipping in my young age ;)

Happy 15th, Grayson (20/3)

Okay, so by the time this goes up, like with everyone else, your birthday will have faded into the distant past. The thought was there (and I did send a text message).

What a start to the day today - I was as disoriented as...a disoriented person! I went to stand up from the computer and go to the sink. Up, left turn, take a step and there. Not today. Up, right turn, into the leg of the couch. Try again. This time a left turn, but back to where I started. Finally got to face the bench and instead of walking to the sink, walked to the wardrobe. Arrgh. Not with it. I blame wearing ties. As soon as I'm dressed (about an hour before I leave) I'm putting the stupid things on (just to get used to them). It may sound corny, but the only knot I know how to tie is the quick 'school' one mum taught me when I went to high school. Luckily my friend, the Internet, has step-by-step instructions. I can now (sitting in front of the computer in the mornings) do different ones (here's hoping I don't have to take the tie off for any reason during the day!).

Work was ho-hum. As a wise person said to me, my task was like trying to fit square pegs into round holes. I am trying to work out a timetable that works for a programme. So far, out of 38 weeks, I have successfully sorted out one week, with three weeks that have a couple of clashes (that I'm assured should be able to be rectified). It's not the easiest job this. I'd almost go as far as to say it's the most challenging I've had! Especially when someone emails me and I have no idea what they're on about and five minutes later they email me again asking why I haven't replied to their earlier email! Hells bells! What's worse - this is for the next academic year that starts in September! I pretty much just sat at my desk wondering what the hell I was doing. That said, once things started falling into place, it was fine. I'm going to go in early tomorrow morning and see if I can sort out one particular challenge (or at the very least preempt a possible change that may occur...).

On my way home I stopped off and picked up an iron & duvet cover (and a couple of other things). I was thinking that I had done alright - only £80 worth...but then I did the stupid thing. I converted it into $NZ. I wasn't going to, but seeing as how I put it on my NZ credit card, I thought I should. Any notion of me doing good, compared to home prices, flew out the window. The iron was only £10, but I paid £45 for a duvet "set" (that contained a duvet cover and packaging...what the "set" entailed, I'm not quite sure, but I think packaging IS included). Oh well. Stuff I needed...shame I couldn't afford to put them on my UK accounts. That's something else I'd completely forgotten about! Easter! I don't get paid over Easter! Damn it all! Public holidays, while fine for those in permanent positions, suck! (Yes, I know, this is somewhat of a hypocritical statement coming from someone who (when in a permanent-y position) wanted more of them ;)

That's it. Another day down...only a week until I have to pay rent again. Hmm, now I've lost £40/wk things might just be a wee bit tougher than first planned (this is until I get the Limited Company sorted out, then I'll be getting a wee bit more in hand - but still less than what I was banking on). That reminds me. If I am lucky enough to get the Health & Safety Officer position, I can't set up the Limited Company as the recruitment crowd there doesn't work with them. Bugger - could've netted me a few extra quid. As it stands, at £14/hr I will most likely get around the £370/wk in hand (compared to the £295/wk I will get for this week!). Really, as long as there's enough to pay rent, pay bills back home, get my travel pass, and eat/drink, I shouldn't complain too much. Many people have much less than that (but *they* don't have the same debts as me - haha).

Just while I think of it. The weather here sucks! It was bloody freezing today. I am not impressed. I had nearly a month of beaut weather and now this! To rub more salt in the wound, as I was walking home it started bloody well snowing! SNOW! In March? That's not what I'm used to! Yesterday there was a bit of hail - today snow. What should I expect tomorrow? It wouldn't have been so bad had I not been walking from Victoria Street (about 10 minutes away). If I'd come from Pimlico Station, I would've been fine. Typical - the day that I go in and pick stuff up from the shops. The bags were soaked; the box that the iron was in was just as bad. And then there was me...my black jacket & trousers were nearly white! My backpack was soaked (including some of the contents in it). I was not a happy camper (and definitely not a dry one at that!). The forecast for the next couple of days isn't the flashest (sunny tomorrow, but only a high of 7). Friday's going to be wet, but a high of 10 (let's keep the double digits alive, people!).

Okay: I've shown my stupidity and moaned about my day & money - that should be enough for today I feel.

Seeyabye

PS: luckily I wasn't tested on names...unfortunately, I met more people today :s Too many names for my wee brain to contend with!

Whoo - first day at work (19/3)

How thrilling. Getting up for a purpose (and not just a "one day" purpose, at that!). Was up and rearing to go this morning. Worked out it only takes 15 mins on the tube, plus 5 mins walking time. Right - if I leave home at 8.20, should give me plenty of time. OR NOT. He who absolutely hates being late, arrived right on 9am! Peak hour traffic on the tubes made it nigh on impossible for someone of my petite stature (haha) to squeeze onto a train! Tomorrow, and in the future, I shall leave earlier. Mind you, that said, the people I needed to see (and who actually knew I was coming today!) weren't in themselves. Slackers ;) Got taken upstairs finally and spent the first hour being shown around and introduced to people (I hope they don't test me on names tomorrow!). Then I find out I'm off to a meeting (which turned out to be four hours straight of meetings!). I have discovered that I will pretty much be taking over from Aidan (eventually) as the administrator for a brand new degree being introduced at the start of the next academic year (September). Quite exciting - and lots of autonomy (to a degree). At the second meeting (the one deciding the procedure for the selection & interview process) they were even asking for MY input. Another wee ego boost for me. Skipped lunch and typed up my notes from the meetings (that will be turned into minutes eventually - good luck to them with my notes; most of them were just getting my head around things). Left at 4pm (since I didn't have a lunch break - they let you do that, so another job with flexi-hours by the sounds of it. I'm going to see if I can start at 8.30 and have a 1/2 hour lunch break and finish at 4pm each day, since I'm only paid 7hrs/day...which is another gripe as it wipes £41/week from my in-hand pay :( ).

Was going to go into Marks & Spencer on the way home, but I just couldn't be arsed at all! Hopefully tomorrow (if not then - HAS to be Weds as will need an iron for a shirt to wear on Thurs!).

The night disappeared replying to emails and chatting to people online (oh, and eventually having dinner & tidying up that mess). I did jump online and buy my tube pass for the week - meant to do that as I left the station but forgot. Doing it online's nice & simple - and they'll email a reminder to me :) Don't think it'll be too hard to get back into a normal working routine again :) S'all.

Seeyabye

One month! Already! (18/3)

Ahh - it's been an entire month since I arrived. In that time I've earned the grand sum of £109! Let's not go working out an hourly rate on that! ;)

I've found that people in this building don't get up early on Sundays. Normally I wouldn't either, but I've discovered it's a good time to throw the laundry in! Guess how my day started then ;) Decided that instead of wasting the couple of hours it takes to do one load I would go for a walk. So off I did go. It's SO quiet at 7.15am on a Sunday morning here! Actually, it is in most places I'm picking. Went to St Jame's Park - power walked around the block there (the outside of the park) and realised it'd only been about 30mins since I'd left...so did a lap around the pond (inner circle)...and a half lap of the inner circle (someone forgot that the outer circle is bigger than the inner circle!). Went home after that. Very red-faced, hair a bloody mess (forgot that I hadn't showered, therefore hadn't done my hair! - Luckily it was windy, so that was my excuse ;) ). Got home & thought, "perfect timing, I'll get my laundry - it'll just be finishing" - and 15 mins later, it was. Bloody hell! I know Suzanne said to put a 1/2 day aside.

After that, what did I do? Just pottered around. Cleaned...again. For a small place, it gets messy damned quickly. The fact that I've been lazy with dishes of late didn't help matters. Replied to a few emails (despite having the Internet at home, I've been a bit tardy in replying). Went for a short walk - literally around the corner and back again. It was bloody cold (and it's only going to get worse over the next few days :( ). I wanted to go to a store to pick up an iron. The store is closed on Sundays (I checked on my first walk). Damn. Gonna need one soon. Think I can get away with not ironing shirts for the next three days... Gonna head into a department store after work tomorrow and pick up a duvet cover and a couple of other things.

Another boring entry. You can't say you're not up to speed with things. Wait until I start earning - then I can afford to do things :) Hopefully ;)

Seeyabye (clicking "save" this time!)

St Paddy's Day, to be sure, to be sure (17/3)

Oh, buggery-bollocks! I must've said I didn't want to save when I closed down yesterday.

I dunno. Talked to Chris. Pottered. Went into town & had a laugh.

My day.

Just. Like. That.

Can't be bothered re-writing it - wouldn't be near as good (?!) second time around.

Seeyabye

Red Nose Day (16/3)

Went for the interview today. Wasn't quite what had been sold to me. Was told it was a PhD Administrator. They don't offer a PhD. It's more just helping someone out, keeping their head above water while they juggle about three different positions. And...it's not ongoing like I was told it would be - they'll only guarantee two months. Hmm. I mean, that aside it did sound interesting - and would be something I could do no sweat. Don't think I did too well in the interview though. We shall, however, see. Called the recruitment consultant (as she wanted me to do) and told her I thought I came across as a right pillock. She went back to the guy - who really liked me (!?!). He was interviewing a couple of others but was going to get back 'shortly'. This was very promising. What did I do? I jumped on the blower to the other recruitment crowd with the other two possibilities (one at £12-14/hr; one at £14/hr)...they don't think anything can happen until Monday. Hmm. Oh, well. Shall wait and see. (oh, found the building without any glitches today! ;) ).

Right - just got a call back. They want me and they want me to start at 9am on Monday. Fantastic? No! Apparently, the guy's spoken with HR or payroll or something like that and it turns out the absolute maximum I could be paid would be £11/hr - not the £12+ as I'd been told. The reason for this is that even at £11/hr, I would be on the same payrate as the person who'd be supervising me; to put me on a higher rate than the supervisor would be bad form (apparently - not for me though, I wouldn't object!). SO...I have until 2pm to decide - that's 1hr 40min away. I'm now waiting on a call from the other outfit to see what, if anything, they could possibly do to speed the process up at their end - or even whether I should just take the bloody risk and turn down this one... Meaning I could be back to square one if the other two don't come to fruition!?! ARRGH. What's worse is that no one is online to talk to! I need a sounding board (not someone who sounds bored ;) ). Bollocks! Bollocks! Bollocks! Bollocks! I hate decisions like this... £11/hr would give me around £300/wk in hand... Better than what I'm getting now... Less than what I *might* get...

Not impressed with you folk back home (I'll forgive Chris - I wanted to call her, but was waiting on a phone call!)! Why couldn't *someone* have been up at 2am. Is that *too* much to ask? C'mon. I left the country; went halfway around the world to stop bugging you. The least you could've done was be online when I wanted to run things by someone. Sheesh!

Anyway. The second crowd didn't get back to me by 2pm so I had to make this decision all on my very lonesome. I took the job at £11/hr. Mainly because it's a 9am start on Monday...and it means WORK. Getting up for a reason! Hallelujah! The money will be a help, too. When I was talking to the recruitment lady, she mentioned limited companies again. I'd forgotten all about them. Turns out they might just be a good thing after all. Called some outfit about them and, indeed, they do sound good. Once it's all sorted, my hourly rate goes from £11 to £12.88 (something to do with the agency not having to pay something so the money goes to me - too complicated to think about!). What wasn't complicated for me was the in-hand figures: £330/wk on PAYE compared with £405/wk through the limited company. Now, despite that little blip in the radar yesterday when looking for the building, I'm not stupid - I know which figure sounds better to me! (And it's the possible £14/hr one through the limited company!!! - but let's not dwell on that!). Also, as a limited company, you can claim back expenses. I said that I didn't think there would be any, but turns out they include: lunches, travel, phone accounts, software & hardware etc. How nice is that - I wouldn't have even thought of that. Guess that's what these people are paid for. The lady was also telling me that the bloke who's essentially my boss was, despite this only being for a couple of months to begin with, talking about more longer-term. Could be a good thing. This doesn't mean that I'm stopping looking - it means that I have something to do with my day, and some money coming in. It'd be nice if I could get something a bit more longer-term (i.e., permanent), but we shall see. So. Monday, nearly 4 months after being made redundant from one university, I start work at another. How thrilling for me. But at least I'm employed. BIG sigh of relief. And I'm working in a nice area - around the corner (I can hear Mum with *that* comment, "Here we go again...") from the tube station; V&A Museum; Science Museum; Natural History Museum; Royal Albert Hall; stones throw from Harrods & Hyde Park. Could life get any better? Actually...if that other crowd comes back to me with those other jobs, I might still look into them...

The sun's shining. See. It was meant to be. Tomorrow I might just have to go out and by myself an iron (since, even though I'm working in a university, I have to wear a shirt & tie every day. Damn it all!).

Even though it's Friday, and I've finally scored a job, I'm going to sit at home tonight. It's Red Nose Day, so I'm going to relax (it's been tough being unemployed!) and watch that on the tele. They have some funny skits and stuff (well, in past years they have - I've downloaded them from the Internet). Oh, bugger. Just thought about things. Even though I work ALL next week, I don't get paid until the 30th - damn being paid in arrears. Might even do a stir-fry for dinner (bought a pack with all the veges (fresh), noodles & sauce in it - only £1.50!). Mmmm - veges. Think I'm hanging out for them now - scary, huh. Bored now.

Seeyabye

How I found my way out of Mum's womb, I'll never know! (15/3)

...actually, I believe I was a C-section, so I had help! I wonder if all C-section kids are geographically challenged, or just me?

Went exploring today - nothing major, just to see where my interview tomorrow is. I knew where Imperial College was, easy-peasy getting there. Just finding the building. Walked around for what seemed like an eternity looking for this big, glass building (the Alexander Fleming Building). Couldn't find the bugger. Found lots of other glass buildings, just not the one I needed. In the end I did what any normal, lost person would do - asked someone. BIG mistake. The guy started laughing...I was standing right in front of the bloody place. Oh, but wait! It gets better than that. I was standing right beside the sign that said what the building's name was. How red was my face!? This has, however, proven two things. The first, I am definitely geographically challenged! The second, Otago gives degrees out to anyone who wants them - you don't need to be smart to get a degree from there! *sigh* At least I'm seeing the funny side (now!). In my defense, I was told it was a new glass building - and it's really about 10 years old...

Apart from that, what did I do? Anything? Nah. Just wandered around, then came home and pottered on the computer (applied for another couple of jobs). Talked to a bloke about one job I sent a CV in for - he was a bloody weirdo! The job asked for someone with a degree in Education and experience working in higher education. He told me that I didn't have a degree in Education, and working in a school isn't higher education. I was quite rude and stroppy - thanked him for his time and proceeded to ask him what a degree in education *was* because "in a *normal* country, like New Zealand, a BA with a major in Education is still a degree in Education and a Master of Education most definitely is. I'm not even going to pass comment on the fact I'm doing a doctorate in Education. As for working in higher education - what is a university if it's not higher education? Maybe you might like to read people's CVs before you call them. Can I speak to your boss now please?" (that's pretty much word for word - with hardly any pauses for him to chip in). I was so pissed off. His boss came on the line and I politely (this time) explained that I didn't care for being told that a) I didn't have the necessary degree or b) experience in a particular sector when it's clearly written on my CV that I do. The boss was apologetic, then asked if I want to be put forward for the position. "Not if it means dealing with your firm, but thanks anyway." IDIOTS! I don't have time (or patience) for them (ignoring my wee incident finding the building above - that's different...it's always different with me ;) ).

What else did I do? Oh, popped pics of the empty flat in Cumby St online. I miss that place (again, now that I've played with the photos). However, what I don't miss (and am not looking forward to having to deal with again) are all the boxes of shite that are stored at Mums! I told myself as I looked at the pics of it all that I will be as ruthless with chucking out my own stuff as I am with chucking out Mum's stuff...that's the theory anyway. Theory and reality don't always marry up...but this time they might just have to...maybe.

Bee & EP's old flat: devoid of our junk (except my laptop in the lounge)

Wasnt't that another mind-numbing (oh, right - I don't have any problems typing that, but try typing "boring" and I have tonnes!) day?

Seeyabye

*Flat photos* (haha - get it?)

Okay - I've promised pics of the flat, so here we go (remember: this flat, in its entirety, is smaller than my old bedroom in Cumberland Street!):

^ The view of the flat as you walk in (this is the *whole* flat, just by the way) (bed is a fold out couch)

^ The view towards the door

^ Kitchen (door to bathroom at right of pic)

^ Bathroom (just big enough for me - wouldn't want to be much bigger than I already am!)

Some of you may notice little mementos from home - Keryn & Em: your three picture blocks have pride of place on the windowsill; Wee-ma & Nicky: your cards are on the wall in the kitchen photo :-)

And that, as they (whoever they are) say, is that.

Happy 12th, Samuel (14/3)

Happy birthday Samuel and H E L L O, Internet! (can you guess which gets higher priority - no offence Samuel, but "the Internet"!) I have the Internet at home (okay, this could be a bad image, but picture me jumping up and down like a madman (or a kid who got the bestest Christmas present in the world)). Very. Happy. Indeed. I think I can justify the £30/month - just worked out that I was spending about £15/week at the Internet cafe (what's that? 9-10 hrs/wk - there are cheaper cafes around, but not around the corner!). As a BIG thank you for your patience while I've been eagerly hanging out for first the phone, then the Internet, I'll post the last...dunno, two weeks (?) worth of these entries. I haven't gone back to read through them myself, so apologies if you've just read a whole lot of them and are in the final throes of checking yourself into a looney bin.

One thing I've come to realise very quickly is that I hate not having carpet. No, not to soften noise or anything like that, but it's great at hiding dirt and stuff! The wood laminate floor, being such a light coloured wood too, shows up every tiny little piece of dirt etc that comes into the place. Leaving the window open all the time doesn't help matters any, either. Nor does having feather pillows - how the damn feathers can keep escaping is beyond me. Anyway, the point is I'm sick to death of having to constantly sweep the floor - I quit. There, now you have it.

Ahh - job front is finally starting to look a bit more promising. One firm has two "nearly definites" for me (the data analyst at £12-14/hr for 3 months; and one I've only found out about today (why she was calling yesterday) as a Health & Safety Officer for a local government at £14/hr - ongoing). The crowd I worked for yesterday called back about the job at a university. She said she could definitely get me at least £9.50-10/hr, so I told her about the other two and she's going to go away to see what she can do. Maybe I should've said higher figures instead of the truth...but honesty is the best policy. She thinks the guy at the university will want to snap me up fairly quickly so he may be prepared to pay more (what kind of university is it where they don't have to scrimp & scrounge for money - ahh...turns out it's in a Medical School, not an Education Faculty; that'll explain things ;) ). We shall see what comes. Hopefully either the university one (at a higher pay rate) or the Health & Safety Officer one. They're both "ongoing". The good thing about both (I asked what ongoing actually meant) is that people that've been in the positions previously have all been moved up the food chain in both organisations after spending several months in the job. Sweet (if I want to stay, that is).

Might go up to the Tate this weekend, since it's only around the corner and up the road a wee bit. Also want to go to the Imperial War Museum - apparently they have a replica bomb shelter as a display. That'll be cool to see. It's only Wednesday and here I am organising myself for the weekend. I could go during the week, but not sure what I'm doing (whether I'll have work or not - best to be prepared, just in case).

*UPDATE* Just had a call from the lady with the university job. She's spoken with the guy there and tried to up the hourly rate to £14. Apparently he pretty much laughed at her, but quickly turned around and offered £12 - maybe more. Apparently, having seen my CV (again, I don't think it's very flash) he's keen to get me on the books. Have an interview with him at 10am on Friday. Judy (recruitment lady) said that he may even be prepared to go higher in terms of an hourly rate. Wicked - looks like my plan of being upfront about having other possibilities has paid off. Only thing now is that there's a possible dilemma. Do I take the £12/hr job I could most likely do with my eyes closed...or do I take the £14/hr job that's new to me (and in the "real" world)? Maybe I'm jumping the gun - nothing's set in concrete yet...

I'm still *very* excited about having the Internet that I'm not going to wait until today to finish this entry - I'll post it now (it'd just end up along the lines of, "I spent the night on the Internet emailing and stuff", anyhow). Hope you've enjoyed (for lack of any better, more appropriate words) the last two boring weeks of my life. I will be doing these daily (or a day in arrears - something like that) from now. Oh - next entry will have pics of the flat (just remembered about them).

Seeyabye

Knackered! (not literally - thank God!) (13/3)

Have been thinking about doing some travelling. Obviously, until I get a more regular income, this ain't gonna be much of a happening thing, but it's not going to stop me thinking about it. I have to think of all the places I want to go. Might just consider the next few months as my "sampler" travels. A weekend in Paris; Rome; Athens; Venice; Amsterdam; Copenhagen - maybe go up to Scandinavia somewhere & to Egypt (depending on time/costs etc). Nic & I are hopefully going to do a week in Turkey (maybe returning via Berlin - I want to go & find a WW2 grave there, Mum's uncle Phil's). I also want to pick up some art while I'm over in Europe...maybe I won't be sending as much money home as first thought ;) Of course, I also want to see the sights of the UK - but that's sort of down the list (not Scotland, but bits of England & Wales). Plus there's a return trip to Ireland with my name on it. They've been advertising cheap flights to Cork & Shannon - Cork sounds alright. We shall see. What I might do is pop all the places I want to go to for weekends into a hat and randomly choose one each couple of weeks or something like that. That'd be fun. I'd prioritise them - but that would be too hard...would I want to go to Rome before Athens or Paris or ...

Just realised - these entries are all about me. Just goes to show that the world really *does* revolve around me! HA! And am I looking at all concerned? I don't think so ;)

So. Went to work today. Just a temp job, nothing 'xciting or permanent. Was only supposed to be for 4-5 hours, but ended up being for 8 (10am-6pm). I had a few minutes off for a lunch break, but was actually enjoying doing what I was doing. The woman in charge of me was, again, surprised when I gave her what she'd given me back and asked for more. I almost felt like wee Oliver Twist (except a bit bigger). It was fun - working on a conference programme and other conference-related stuff. This bird, Sarah, thought all her prayers had been answered when I said I'd been on a national conference organising committee and had worked on the programme. She dumped this HUGE ringbinder of abstracts on my desk and in under a minute explained what she wanted done. Three hours later, it was done. Piss easy. By the end of the day, though, shite I was knackered! Sarah said that if they need anymore help that she'll be asking for me by name (if I'm available). Being the professional that I am (haha), I turned my phone on silent so I wasn't being distracted...missed three calls from recruitment agents! Damn being professional! One was the one with the 3-month contract as a data analyst. Don't know what the story is as by the time I remembered my phone it was 8pm! Another one was from the crowd that got me today's work. Apparently they have a possible 3 month contract as a PhD Administrator at "one of the UK's top top universities" (uh huh - if it's one of the top top ones, why does the woman think that I'd be happy on "hopefully up to £10/hr" when the other one is between £12-14/hr). I'm not going to turn my nose up at it though, well, not if the other one doesn't come through! The third one was just saying they'd received my CV and were very impressed and would give me a call if anything appropriate came up. Wasn't that exciting - you now know what all my calls were about ;)

Here's a wee story for you. I felt like mashed spuds for dinner tonight, so popped into Sainsburys on the way home. Happened to pass the "instant potatoes" that "taste just like potatoes should". What a crock of utter shit! They taste nothing like spuds! Disgusting. Never will I be *that* stupid again! I had one mouthful and couldn't even keep it down - spat it up straight away (there's an image I know you wanted, yeah). That's all - no sconing myself on the head tonight. Just a bad experience with instant spuds.

Seeyabye

Oh boy! (12/3)

Right. One thing that's bugging me is people who call me and say that I applied with a job through them. Hello! I've applied for more than just *ONE* job. Sheesh. This bird from yet another recruitment crowd called me this morning to say that she'd received my CV and she praised it up more than I think she should've. Apparently it's a very "solid" CV. What does this mean? Well, that's today's million dollar (or pound - I'd rather have pounds given the choice, thanks) question. Does it mean that it "looks" good? Does it mean that I've been had a "steady" or "stable" work history? C'mon people. Stop telling me how wonderful I am (on paper) - I know this, and I make sure everyone who knows me knows this as well ;) I need something to do. Even job hunting's becoming a bore... The more time I have on my hands, the less I want to do (even though there's stuff to do). It's funny, isn't it. When you're as busy as anything, you don't have time to do all you want to do; when you're not busy and have all the time in the world, you can't be bothered. Another of life's little mysteries. So. This morning I sat in front of the (Internet-less) computer playing games - but not solitaire...I'm solitaired out (well, if I had a deck of cards, I'd be playing different variations). I discovered about 4 or 5 new games on my computer - only demo versions, but still a bit of variation nevertheless (is that one word, or does it utilise hyphens? Hmm.). I've also been answering my phone - one poor recruitment chick kept hitting redial and getting me. So funny. Especially when I answered, "You've hit redial again". I think her face was red ;) Called the one who talked about the 3 month contract to see how that was coming along. Apparently she fired my CV off so quickly the poor guy didn't know what hit him. She'll chase it up again for me today. Still keeping fingers crossed there.

For all my grumblings with BT about the phone line and Internet (well, how long they've taken to get them connected), they're actually rather efficient. Sort of. What I mean is that I've had about 3 text messages from them about the Internet telling me when it should be available and who to contact if it's not; that the modem etc will be delivered by registered mail and I'll need to sign for it; and something else - oh, another reminder that it'll be connected by 8pm Weds.

With all this time on my hands (and the fact we've had such a brilliant weekend, and today's just as good) I've been thinking about people in Dunedin and how if they were here we could've gone for liquid lunches in the sun at the pub or coffees or a glass of wine after work (well, you know what the unemployed bum is meaning). Oh, Ros - I still have that tenner set aside for the first couple of glasses of wine here (only had beer so far) - will make sure I enjoy and raise a glass to you :) Apart from people, I don't think I'm missing NZ at all. And here I was thinking I'd be really homesick and itching to get home! Nope. I was contemplating life from November (if I'm not going to come back). Having lived in London, I don't think I'd want to go anywhere in the South Island, so it'll most likely be a coin toss between Wellington and Sydney (I know, Sydney's not in NZ, but it's one of my options). Who knows. I've got to see what happens over the next few months. Oh, I know. I *could* move back to the happening metropolis of BLUFF! Hahaha - good to know that my sense of humour still exists ;) Anyhow, this is what I was telling someone - I have to have things planned out. I'm not a fan of surprises or the unknown. Uncertainty and I don't see eye-to-eye.

As I've just devoured yet more strawberries, rasperries and grapes I've just realised that I'm going to end up with a whole year of berries and summer fruits - yeeeehaaaa! They're quite cheap over here too. A big punnet (or chip - whatever you want to call it) of seedless grapes (mix of red & green) only costs £1.80. Strawberries & raspberries are only around £2 as well. Life couldn't get better :)

Got a call for a job tomorrow morning. Only £7/hr - hardly worth getting out of bed for...wait! Compared to the £0 that I've been getting out of bed for the last few mornings, I don't think I'll be doing too much complaining ;) It's only data entry - min 4hrs, but apparently they give more work if they have it...a 'play it by ear' type job. Never did get a call back from the other recruitment bird. I shall be patient - she knows I'm itching to get back into work :) Oh, shit! I forgot to get my tube pass today. Gee, thanks for reminding me, yeah ;) I'll have to be organised and get it tomorrow morning (no use getting it tonight - it'd be a waste of a day!).

Seeyabye

The Lord's day...again (11/3)

Was up nice & early this morning. Had to be. Wanted to do my laundry! Stupid bloody machine. Forgot to press a button (to say, "quick wash please Mr Machine") and it took 2 hours. TWO HOURS! I ask you! It's a bit bloody OTT if you ask me. Nevermind. Another load done, so I'm happy (with nice, clean clothes). I was telling Chris last night (wasn't that nice of my big sister to call me) that I don't need to use the dryer - clothes seem to be drying overnight. Even my jeans! Life's all good. I was telling her something else, too. Forgotten. Oh, that's right! How could I forget. She asked whether I had a view (being on the top storey and all). I told her all I could see were the buildings over the road and if I sort of stuck my head out the window a wee bit, the church down the road. Turns out (and it's amazing what you can discover when you're working on your studies) that there's a brilliant view of the sky! Okay, I did know this - didn't see the point in mentioning it to Chris. But the cool part is that you can see the planes heading for Heathrow...as well as the ones that are in the holding pattern waiting to land. It was very interesting. There are so bloody many that go into the airport that time just flew by (no pun intended) as I watched them. Needles to say, not much skool work did get done.

Went down to the Internet cafe and spent a couple of hours there - not really sure how the time vanished as quickly as it did, but it did. Then went off to the supermarket (again - this week's been rather expensive on the grocery front...but I shouldn't need anything for a while, so it's all good). Oh, I did get a set of pots, that added to the cost a wee bit (okay, only £9, but it makes me feel better to say they added a lot). I'm starting to figure out where things are in the supermarket. I knew I liked routine, but God I hate having to try and familiarise myself with a new supermarket! It'd most likely be easier if I actually remembered to take my shopping list with me, but I haven't quite managed that yet ;) Got home, unpacked everything and then started doing some readings (until I got sidetracked by all the planes coming in).

Did you know that eating is a dangerous thing to do. Perhaps not so much the physical act of eating (unless you choke on something, that's not good). I was putting the top back on the olive oil while doing something else. End result - half a bottle of oil all over the bench (not quite half, but closer to a half than not). As I was cursing about that, the pot that was on the boil started to boil over. One hand was mopping up the oil, the other was moving the pot off the element. What was my head doing? Just whacking itself into the bloody rangehood thing! Goddamn it hurt! Phew! Just did a quick check of the damage - at least there's a small egg on the head to prove that it hit and it hit hard :) The only consolation about all of this was that nothing else has gone wrong this evening (don't need to touch wood - just checked and there is damage to the ol' noggin' ;) ). I did enjoy dinner - despite all the mess that I can't see ('cos my back is to it! Remember kids, if you can't see it then it's not there...until you turn around :s ).

On that happy note, I guess I should do the dishes and contemplate how to spend my day tomorrow (and pray hard that I get a job :) ). Oh, I got my National Insurance Number in the post yesterday (forgot to open mail yesterday - also got a payslip from the day temping (£60 in hand - no tax...not sure if I should be worried, but I guess they know what they're doing), and a letter from BT telling me what they told me on the phone the other day about my Internet connection). I guess if'n I'm still unemployed I shall email all the recruitment people and tell them to pull their fingers out of their butts and get me a decent job...or just let them know my National Insurance number. Enjoy your...whatever (day/evening). As Rove would say, "Say hi to your mum for me" (Chris & Joss, you can say hi to my mum too :) ;) ).

Seeyabye

A day of (self) learning (10/3)

I did done do some learnin' today. About myself even. Turns out I might have an addictive personality. Yep. I'm addicted to myself ;) haha. Nah, seriously though. I thought I'd have a couple of games of solitaire before buggering off to do something. This was around 10am, so that's fair enough. Yeah, well, unfortunately I was involved in a slight losing streak and my success rate took a plummet (not that it was high, mind you - around 49%). It dropped to 45%. I learned that I can be determined at times... I wasn't giving up until I'd lifted the success rate to at least what it was when I started. Next thing I know it's 3pm! I was wondering why I was feeling a bit thirsty & peckish. Hmm. I only got the success rate back to 48%, but that's much better than 45%! Oh dear. What a waste of a bloody day.

Talking about a waste of a day - well no, not really. Anyhow, before I digress right off the beaten track and not recall what shite I was about to write... I have a reasonably new (2 point something months) PhD supervisor...and he's cracking the whip (when he remembers - a bit like me in that respect - haha). I'm supposed to have done some stuff for him (that I have looked at - just gone no further than that), so I did some of it after playing solitare (a good distraction from that stupid game). I planned to do the whole lot in one sitting but, me being me, I managed to side-track myself onto something else. I don't like having just one ball up in the air at any given time ;) I just spent (and if only you could see the look on my face thinking about it) three f***king hours working out the Elley-Irving Socio-Economic Index categories for the parents in my study. I thought this would be a nice, simple task. It was for some, but then others it was bloody hard. I lost count of how many times I read through the list of nearly 600 different occupations to see which one most resembled the occupation given by the parent. It's by no means perfect, but then I challenge *you* to do it. I do have to concede, however, this is one time when I'm pleased that I had a lower than anticipated response rate :) It's done now, so I'm a happy little (!?!) camper again. I'd love for the distributions (or whatever you want to call them) to come back similar to what Elley & Irving had. That would mean I'd have a somewhat representative sample (or something like that - keep me happy by nodding in agreement ;) ). I'm starting to feel good about this PhD thing again (they do say it's like one big roller coaster ride!). I've told Jeff that I'll get him some kind of draft by the end of June (of course, what *I* call a draft and what *he* calls a draft could be two totally different beasts). It's all good! Tomorrow I'm going to sit down (well, lie down on the floor) and read & summarise articles. I've decided that I really miss not having all the printed copies - having the electronic ones was good in theory... Ahh, hindsight. Gotta love it. At this stage, since I don't know whether I'll come back after October, I'm not going to get the Ol' Girl to post me stuff (besides which, I think I've already forgotten how I organised it - it was logical at the time...).

Having brought my external hard drive with me was the best idea in the world! I have ALL my music (plus Bee's stuff that she kindly left on it for me :) ). HEAPS to choose from, maybe a wee bit too much choice at times, but it's good to be in that situation. And now I've sussed out how to put them onto my phone, life is bloody fantastic - music-wise, that is :)

Was doing some thinking while pottering around (doing dishes) this morning. There's all this stuff that I feel I need to buy for the flat that I think I'm either only going to get if it's dirt cheap, or not bother about getting at all. Why, I hear you ask. Well, what's the point in wasting money (that I don't actually have at this moment in time) on stuff that I'm just going to turn around and possibly get rid of in 8 months time (almost 7 1/2 now, but who's counting?). I'll get the basics (iron, pots & pans, and linen), but things like a chest of drawers (it was only going to be a small one - I live on the 114th floor, remember! ;) ) and stuff I don't need (the phone's happy on the floor, as will the broadband modem & phone). That was just a thought I had, anyway. (I have to put them down otherwise there wouldn't be anything for you to read, would there ;) ).

Hmm...tomorrow I'll get up early & do my laundry (hopefully there will be a free machine) and then work on my PhD & stuff for Jeff in the morning. Might go to the Internet cafe in the afternoon, and then spend the rest of the day back on the PhD stuff. That sounds like a bloody good plan to me! Hopefully once I get a job I can get into a routine of spending Weds nights working on my PhD (if not Weds, then one night a week). I wouldn't mind going to the gym (haha - can you imagine *that*! Me. Gym. Must. Stop. Laughing. Sides. Sore.) or something "fitness-y" - maybe just a walk around the park each night. Actually, that almost sounds do-able (lets not put money on how long it lasts though...). *Sigh* just writing utter bollocks now. Might go and cook something for dinner (since it's nearly bedtime!).

Seeyabye

Happy 28th, Nic! (9/3)

Happy birthday Nic! Isn't that a cop out for a subject line? Am I bothered? Am I bothered though? Right, am I bothered? Do I look bothered? Face. Look. Face. Look. Bothered. No. I ain't bothered. (Sorry, that's from a Catherine Tate skit - very funny, but I'm picking you had to be there). Insanity has well & truly sunk in for the long haul now ;)

Went into yet another recruitment agency for a test & interview today. Those tests are right royally fucking me off! I was getting so pissy with them (Word, Excel, & data entry ones). No sooner had I done something wrong than it came up with this gigantic, flashing sign: "INCORRECT". Hello, I knew when I'd made a mistake, thankyouverymuch. Some weren't mistakes - I honestly had no idea how to do what they wanted me to do; but the mistakes were just stupid ones that I wouldn't have made had I been allowed to use my shortcuts (but you have to do everything the looooong way on these tests). Also, there was a time limit on them - 35 mins for each of the Word/Excel tests and 5 mins for the data entry (too bad I missed the bit where it said it was timed and I spent the first couple of minutes looking over the information they wanted entered) - oops, my bad. When I had the interview afterwards I made a comment to the chick about being PO'd about my performance and she, thinking she'd make me feel better, made a comment about being "average". AVERAGE!!! I was spitting tacks - then she apologised and corrected herself. Apparently I'm an "advanced", not "average" user of Word & Excel (scoring 89% on Word and 85% on Excel). Me being me had to question this. I passed comment about making so many mistakes, so there must be a problem with their system. Nope. Just turns out that most people take more than the 10mins for each of the tests that I took. Phew - rushing through these does count for something ;) In the interview I was asked what my colleagues would say about me if they were given a chance. Without thinking (one of my bad habits) I turned around and said, "Would depend who you asked". Well, it's true. I said there would be some who would say what you want to hear, whether they genuinely believe it or not; and others who would say...something else. She asked about my referee that she has to email - I told her to let me know if he says anything bad and I'll get his wife on the case ;) (Not that you would, would you, Jeff? - haha). Nah, think it went well. Like I said, I'm getting more comfortable with these interview things.

Felt a bit unloved when I checked my emails today. Only two real ones (and they're only sort-of-real: sister's don't really count ;P haha). I guess one thing that shows is that I'm not writing people like I should be. I could've told you that would happen. Once I get the Internet (yeah, yeah, put another record on - I know) I'll start sending semi-regular bulk emails again.

That's what I must say while I think of it. How you dress depends on who accosts you on the streets. For example, when in jeans & t-shirt people wanting signatures to "stop poverty" (I'm trying! It's not my fault I can't get a job.) ignore me; wearing a suit, they're all over me. Another incidence? People handing out voucher things - it's the opposite; I'm ignored in a suit. Go figure. I'd better not wear a suit jacket & jeans - I'd get the whole bloody lot of them. Also, drivers seem to have less patience for 'touristy'-looking people. At least this I can understand :)

Went around the corner (like I say, everything's around the corner ;) ) to the pub with one of the blokes who lives in the building. Had a couple of pints there. Nothing exciting. He said he'd spent 5 weeks here without a job :s Made me sort of feel good; except for the fact he'd saved to come over...I hadn't ;) He's a bit of a hard shot - shame he's leaving in a couple of weeks (doing a 6 month stint around Europe, then off to work in South Africa for a few months before heading back to Oz).

Seeyabye

"It sucks to be me" (8/3)

Line from a show, alright. I'm not feeling suicidal or anything crazy like that. Gee. What are *you* smoking today? (S'alright Joss, I don't really need to know the answer to this - it's a rhetorical question :P ). I reckon it could be a hoot with song titles like "It sucks to be me", "Everyone's a little bit racist", "I'm not wearing underwear today", "You can be as loud as the hell you want when you're making love", and "The Internet is for porn"; and characters such as "Gary Coleman - yes, *that* Gary Coleman" and "Lucy the Slut"

I got up today...begrudgingly. Honestly, I had the worst night's sleep ever. I mean, it was solid sleep - I don't recall waking up - but when I woke up this morning it felt like I'd not had any sleep at all! So come 6.50am when my body clock tells me it's time to get up I resisted. The only thing that managed to get me up (short of the bladder) was the fear that if I slept in I'd miss a call for work! As it turns out, I didn't. Grr ;) I pottered around (avoiding the dishes) and played...go on, bet you can't guess...Solitaire! Phone rang and it was another recruitment crowd who, again, were impressed with my CV (why? It's no more impressive than the next person's) and want me to come in for an interview tomorrow. Sweet. At least these guys were up front and said I'd have tests :s Don't like that idea too much, but the things we do. When I realised that it was 10.30am (last time I focussed on the time it was 9am!!! Damn, addictive solitaire!) I thought, "well, P., it's about time to go outside and do something". I couldn't agree with myself more ;) Went into town to the bank...again (I'm sure they know me by name when I walk in the door now ;) ). I was right (again!). My credit card *was* ready and waiting for me. Whoo! Free money! :) No, I'm serious. It *is* free money! No interest until the end of August. Phew - means I should be able to pay the rent! They, for some bizarre reason, sent me three PINs for the card. The guy was most confused (about everything, not just the 3 PINs)... He told me to open each one and see if it worked (derrr). I opened the first one & it worked (ain't I amazing, picking the right one first time!) - so I changed it. When I opened the other two at home later it turns out all three PINs were the same... So much for my amazingness ;) After the bank I wandered around again. The sun was shining, so I was in a short-sleeved shirt...everyone else was still wrapped up in scarves etc. What is it with these freaks!? I saw one guy in a T-shirt & shorts (heard him speak: Aussie). But anyhow, it was a loverly day. Walking around aimlessly, getting on the odd tube, and generally wasting time. On the way home I called into the supermarket and got some groceries. I still can't believe how cheap food is here. Not sure about meat though. Still living off salads, fruit & pasta and the likes. Did see a pot set for £1 more than I paid for the bloody one fry pan I got the other day... That bloody Murphy again! ;) Came home, unpacked, had a couple of crackers and then went to the Internet cafe (damn! Forgot to get stamps!). Applied for more jobs (the story of my life), and generally pissed around. Changed my details at uni, checked emails, cancelled a couple of things, and...not sure where the rest of the time went, but it did go. No sooner had I walked in the door when the phone rings (must change the ringtone - I'm becoming immune to the sound of sirens etc, which is my current ringtone). Was the recruitment company that gave me the day's work on Friday. They're putting my CV forward for a job as a Data Analyst. I said I could do it...I guess I could, we'll see if I get it. It's a 3-month contract - £25-30kpa (so about £12-14/hr). Would be nice. Will keep you posted (well, once I get all these up onto the blog site I will - sorry about that).

Seeyabye

More applications... (7/3)

I'm starting to get very proficient at applying for jobs. Must've been about another 12 or so I applied for today. Just throwing caution to the wind and applying for nearly anything that sounds like it could be interesting. Getting a bit sick of re-writing the same BS about how wonderful I am. Oh, one job I applied for was a proofreader. God - imagine how boring that could be (depending on what you're proofing of course). Tomorrow (Thursday? Starting to lose track of the days as they all blur into one) I'm going to email the agencies and tell them I'm desperate for something. Honestly, this boredom lark is, well, tedious! (Ha! Bet you thought I was going to say boring). Might also go into the bank and see if my credit card's there yet...hmm, I wonder if that's why they rang me the other day. They said it was a PIN, but I already had that. Gee, just shows how quick off the mark I am...nearly a week later the penny drops ;)

Called BT this morning to get broadband sorted out. So funny, the lady was rattling off all these options and I started to zone out. Went for the fastest/unlimited option in the end (I think). It sounds weird, but I'm getting another phone & phone line - not 100% sure what the hell that's all about. Something about cheaper calls than the landline (a way to compete with Skype, perhaps?). We shall see when it arrives I guess. Which is another thing that grots me. I've got to wait until next bloody Wednesday (by 8pm, apparently) until I'm connected. That's an entire week! Gee, they like making people wait. I did ask if there was any chance of getting hooked up sooner but was told it has something to do with who their supplier is (or some shite like that - zoned out again). Had to sign up for a 12 month contract as that was the minimum. Asked about buying out of the contract if I were to stay back in NZ and that's OK with them - the lady was surprised I even mentioned it (maybe I should've kept mum about it? Nah - pays to be honest & up front). I do have, however, until next Tuesday to change my mind and cancel the Internet - but why would I cut my lifeline to the world? Wouldn't that just be a silly thing to do? ;)

Apart from going around to the Internet cafe this afternoon, I've done nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just sat in front of the computer playing solitaire & listening to music. See, if I had the Internet at home I'd be job hunting and not just procrastinating. Oh, that reminds me - I downloaded some application forms to work on at home. Might bugger off and work on them now (saves me playing solitaire - which, I feel I'm getting worse at. Maybe it's just lack of concentration). Gosh, it's even going to be a surprise what these jobs are now... I was just going to spin this big story about how exciting they were...but they weren't, so I won't. One I know I won't get (but I'll still put in for it!). It sounds similar to what I've been doing (sort of), but on a larger scale. Why don't I think I'll get it? Well, the salary kinda makes me think there's more to things than what's written in the job description. Starting at £44k, I think I'd be bloody lucky to get a look in (but wouldn't that be grand!).

Had the scrummiest dinner tonight. Amazing what I can whip up when I can be arsed! Nothing flash, but yummy nevertheless. It was just a tomato bolognaise with rice and a side salad (I didn't make that - just pulled the leaves out of the bag). Watched a bit of tele. I can see why Dot & co enjoy 'Top Gear'. Shit it was so funny tonight. The three guys each made (not sure if they did it themselves or designed & oversaw - missed the start) a limo and put them through some tests. Nearly wetting myself with laughter. Murphy's law though. I just find something I enjoy only to find out that it was the last episode of the season. I normally like the Irish, but Murphy is getting on my wick! ;) Comic Relief is on next Friday (I think; next week anyhow). It's sort of a Telethon-y type show. Big names get behind it by doing skits and stuff (apparently the Top Gear blokes are doing something). All for charity...I think it's tied in to Red Nose Day. Don't quite follow, but nevertobeminding. Oh, channel surfing made me laugh. Jason Donovan was hosting the lottery (Lotto & some other lottery things I couldn't work out). The years haven't shown him the same kindness they have with Kylie! (Mind you, wasn't he a big druggie at one point?). Now, another thing to add to my list of things to do tomorrow is to go to the post office (now I know where one is in this neighbourhood (and no, Mum, I can't say it's 'just around the corner' - it's a couple of blocks away, but not too far)). I think I only mention that in the hopes I'll remember. Ah ha! Maybe if I take the card I want to post then I *will* remember (good job I put a note in it saying it'd take me a while to post it!). Who knows?

Seeyabye

EP. Phone home... (6/3)

What a boring day. I've had to hang around waiting for the BT man to come. Ahh, well. Another chance to try & figure out this f'king washing machine... Heh. Y'know the other day I said I did exactly what I did the time before? Yeah, turns out I forgot one step. Oops. All sussed now :) Gotta wonder about some people, huh. And obviously when I was down doing laundry the post came and I have a parcel that needs signing for (but they didn't say where it is...they never ticked that box - wonder if they'll try again). C'mon - who loves me enough to be sending me care parcels? I know the answer to this question! None of you! For shame! It'll be the phone from BT. Time to wait and see what to do. If they don't call back, then I'll just stroll around to the Delivery Centre and hope it's there - in between waiting for the BT man to come around, of course. Have been playing solitaire and listening to music on the computer. Must say, I'm getting better - not at solitaire (think I'm getting worse at that!), at listening to music ;)

Ended up going stir crazy so did go for a walk to the post office to pick up my parcel. As per usual, I was right - it was just the phone from BT. I'd only *just* stepped into the flat when my mobile went of - the guys from BT had just arrived as well. Talk about top notch timing on both parts. As I type they're down in the basement looking at connections. There better bloody well have been a connection in this flat - I don't particularly like the idea of having to fork out £125 to get a new connection...but if needs must... (reality: can't live without the Internet so will pay to get it!). Turns out there was a connection and I'm all sorted - a link to the world, so to speak.

Also waiting for the lady from yesterday to call back about the possible job that she was hoping would come up. If it doesn't, I'll be on her case for a job tout suite. Dunno if you've detected or not, but I'm starting to get a bit sick of not working. I now consider temping on Friday cruelty. It gave me a small taste of the real world...but only for the day :( I shall keep praying (haha - as if!). Maybe I *should* head along to the church services on Sunday. Nah. I couldn't see myself doing that. Seems just a wee bit overboard (desperate, whatever you like to call it). Besides which, I'd be terrified the bloody place would fall down if I went to an actual service (it's bad enough just walking into one - I'm sure I can hear the building creaking; readying itself to crumble down if I stay too long). Just unpackaged the new phone. Jesus Christ! It can hold a SIM card (why? Why would I put a SIM card into the phone? What would the purpose of that be? It's already in a phone, is it not (well, not my NZ one, it's in a plastic case somewhere over there *indicates behind me somewhere* - maybe I could put it in the new phone...though still not sure why. Will read the instruction booklet, I guess (not that I am greatly inclined to read those stupid things!)... So, I picked up the manual and had a look through it (note: I didn't read it, just skimmed it - there weren't enough piccys to only look at them). Sounds OK - can save phone numbers from SIM to the phone...maybe I'll relent and give it a crack. What a waste of my time *that* was. My NZ SIM doesn't work. Bollocks to it then. At least I have a working phone! Whoo! Internet, here I come ;)

Hmm, might have tomato soup for dinner tonight...thought I'd share that with anyone who cares. Nah, not anyone who cares, more like anyone who reads this tripe ;)

Seeyabye

Monday, Monday. Can't trust that day (5/3)

(It's getting harder and harder to think of a subject for these silly entries now - could be competition time: email me some possibilities and the first one I use will receive a free surprise (well, I couldn't very well ask you to pay for it, could I!) from me - all the way from London!).

Got up. Got dressed up in case I got called in for a temp job. Then lamented my absolute boredom. How I miss the Internet! Went down to the Internet cafe for a couple of hours. No sooner had I parked my rump in a chair then my phone did ring. 'Twas a lady from another recruitment crowd. I'd apparently applied for a job through them over the weekend (uh huh, one of many...) and I wasn't suitable for it (uh huh, like *that* narrows it down...) BUT, in her words (please add an Australian accent), "I'm not letting your CV go - it's the best I've seen in a while". Now, how was that for a boost to my ego (like it's not already big enough ;) ). Just what I'd wanted to hear. We arranged a meeting at 3pm (she doesn't normally do same day meetings - so she told me...bet she says that to *all* the applicants). She emailed me directions (and I thought I gave bad directions - hers might've got me there, but I reckon the A-Z was a safer bet). Arrived way too early (just the way I like it), so strolled around Covent Gardens. Watched another street performer (Nick - you could make a bloody mint just being yourself here! This wacko was getting shrapnel to £20 notes!). Can't remember if I wrote about the last guy, but he was ace! (Can't remember what he did - oh, yeah - guess you had to be there though). All of a sudden, all the time I had up my sleeve vanished. Into thin air. Just like magic. I ambled (can you see I'm getting sick of using "wandered" and looking for alternatives today) around to the agency. Was buzzed up and talk about being treated like royalty! I think the lady was a bit OTT in her eagerness (I was introduced to the other 3 in the office as "Phil - the bloke with the great CV I told you about!" (did you remember the Australian accent?). Shame to the max! Did our thing - hopefully I might have work starting Weds, if not she's going to see what she can do for me. A bit of a 'recruiters party line' going on, but who cares - so long as I get some bloody work. Seriously, she was such a hard case - especially when I told her I'd finished filling out the forms and she reminded me there were 6 pages of them. "I wouldn't have told you I'd finished if I hadn't worked that one out", said I (quite annoyed, but hopefully not showing it). Apparently, because there was a "spelling test" (pick the correct spelling of a word: genuwine - genuine - gennuine - gennuin), the forms take most people at least 20+ minutes to fill out. I was done in 5 (I hope I did done good with the speling...). I think going into these interviews is good for me. I'm not getting as 'worked up' and nervous as I normally do. Long may this continue! That's right, I'd mentioned I'd had one day temping on Friday. Apparently this is good because I've now had "experience" and that can be used to sell me to clients. Talk about shit-spinning. Now it's a matter of sitting with my fingers crossed - wait - they seem to be permanently crossed. You know what I'm meaning though.

AHH! I haven't told you about my exciting day yesterday, I mean I told you about what happened, but not *this*. I figured out how to fold the bed into the couch. Amazing stuff - only took me all of 30 seconds. BUT WAIT, there's more! I started getting heat out of the radiator! Amazing stuff. Only thing with the heater is that the heat vanished again overnight (despite being turned right up). I'm picking that this was only to taunt me...there was only heat up to about 1/16th (maybe 1/8th - I'm not good at guessing these things) of the radiator (from the bottom, obviously).

On the way home from the tube (sidetrack: tried my PIN on my debit/EFTPOS card today (first time) and it worked) I was zoning out (as normal) looking up at the buildings (there are some ugly ones around the tube station) and I saw a word and felt like a little kid in a candy store (no, it wasn't "candy"). The Pimlico Library. Right on my doorstep! How very, very exciting (if you're me). It means that I won't have to go out and buy tonnes of books and ship them to mum's (I can just hear that sigh of relief from Bluff!). Might go and sign up tomorrow afternoon (depending on what time the BT man turns up...more to the point, depending on whether I remember or not!).

Seeyabye

The Lord's day (4/3)

Starting this off with something I think I saw on tele just then. I think that kid (the freaky boy) that was in that movie with umm...Hugh Grant is in a new drama series here called 'Skins'. I think it's him, anyway. Why is this important? Well, it's not really but there are times when I see things like that and alway want to either pat myself on the back for recognising someone or, at the very least, remember that I want to keep an eye out for a show/movie etc. This is one of the latter cases; nothing exciting, more a case of 'yay me for thinking of taking a note of it'. S'all.

Toyed with the idea of heading along to church this morning - there's one along the road a bit. I can even see it from my window. Looking from the window was as far as I got though (and most likely will be as far as I ever get - short of walking past it when I go to the Internet cafe, but that's different). I had to clean today (especially since I didn't yesterday). Joy of joys. I wasted a whole...20 mins (if that) cleaning from top to bottom (for an extra 10, I could've done all the cupboards, but that would just be 'Chris-obsessive' ;) ). Went down to do the laundry. I don't understand the f'king washing machine. Seriously! I did exactly (I think) as I did earlier in the week - walked away and went back down to it an hour and a half later. Nothing had f'king happened. Clothes weren't even wet (except for where the laundry liquid landed on them). I don't understand this machine. What's wrong with a "normal" one like I can understand. This is a huge sore point. I tried again. Still nothing. What's worse, there was no one around to bloody well ask! Grr. In the end I just washed by hand (and now I have a blister from wringing the clothes out <-- cue for sympathy from someone...anyone...). Hopefully next time there will be someone down there to show me what to do (I'm still adament I did what I did last time - obviously not).

Thought I might make some lunch. Just as I was pouring some soup into the pan to heat I get a text from Chris telling me about the electrical storm in Sydney. Nothing fun like that here today. Even had to close the window a bit - not 'cos it was cold, but 'cos I was getting sick of the cord for the blind blowing around in the breeze. Haven't sorted out the heating yet, but still haven't needed it (the hallway is hot enough!). I see someone put a sign down above the heater on the floor below asking people not to turn on the heater there as they were starting to cook up on this floor. Like I said before, at least I'm cool blooded and don't need a lot of heat :) Back to lunch. Mmm, chunky chicken soup (the chunks surprised me!). Was delicious! I think it's the first time I've had meat since last Friday when I had Indian for my birthday. Still not really missing it.

Might just spend the rest of the day vegging on the couch (when I figure out how to fold it back to the couch - have just left it folded out as the bed since I arrived) watching tele. It feels like one of those days. That's what I was going to say. I think the poms must like their food or something. On three channels (of the 5 I have) there were food programmes at one point. Just a bit OTT, if you ask me (and tough if you didn't).

Just caught the bit from the other day when I said I'd pop these up when I went into the Internet cafe. I tried, but it wouldn't format the way I wanted to so I just left it at that. There's not a lot to each entry; figured it wouldn't kill you to read a few at once (if it does happen to kill you, sorry you're dead but I take no responsibility for it ;) ). Today's been the first time that I've actually watched much tele here (amazing, huh!). There might just be a good reason for that. There's absolute shite on the poor channels (i.e., free ones). I have, however, found channel 4 - home to quality programmes such as Teachers and Green Wing (at least, I think it is). There is hope yet. ... After watching tele for the last couple of hours, I retract that last statement! Oh, I watched a wee bit of some show called Hollyoaks (or something like that) - weird! There's this wee man who stands in the bottom corner of the tele signing for the deaf. To his credit, I found him much more amusing than the actual show itself - he made sense ;) But hello, get with the times people - Teletext! Page 801! Subtitles. And optional, at that. I shouldn't be so rude, but arrgh. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't help watching him (such a funny wee man - smaller than the characters on the show). Anyhow, I ended up watching Cold Mountain. I cringed when I saw it started at 9pm...but when the news interrupted (like Lotto does on TV2 Saturday nights) at 10pm, I realised there hadn't been any ads. Yay for something. Just like in the old days ;) Oh, in case you want to know what I thought of Cold Mountain...meh. Slow, predictable, very "I've seen this storyline before somewhere else".

S'all.

Seeyabye

What to do? What to do? (3/3)

By the time I surfaced today it felt like the day was just about over. Honestly, I couldn't believe I slept for so long. Mind you, having taken that phone call yesterday morning for the temp job, I think I'm going to be too scared to sleep in during the week from now (not that this is a bad thing!). I was going to do the housebitch chores today, but decided I really couldn't be arsed (tomorrow is, after all, another day). Given the size of the flat I'm also figuring that one more day won't hurt. Went out into the loverly sunny day...and found a bitterly cold wind. Not sure what that's about. It wasn't there when I stuck my head out the window before I ventured out. Ahh, I'm up so high that it's a different climate. That'll be it ;) Strolled around the corner to the Internet cafe. I'm beginning to think that I might be considered a regular - the lady at the counter asked if I wanted one hour. Luckily for me I was able to trick her - I wanted two! Ha! Chalk one up to me ;)

Applied for another couple of jobs. I'm getting well shitty with myself for not knowing exactly what it is I want to do with my life. Seriously, I haven't a single clue. I'm sure I'll wake up one morning and say, "I want to do [insert what it is I want to do]!" Until that day comes it's going to be a 'play it by ear' life. I hear that a lot of people have those, but let's be realistic here; I need some kind of security (whether it's a daily routine or...). There are literally thousands of jobs on the go here. On one site it told me (well, it'll tell anyone that looks, not just me) that they were advertising about 85,000 jobs. *85,000* Hell, in Dunedin you'd be lucky to get 850 advertised ;) Maybe there's too much choice for me. That could be it. One job I applied for was a legal secretary. Not 100% sure what the difference is between a legal secretary and a normal one (except that one obviously works in a law firm ;) ). I put some BS in the covering letter about how I'm in the early stages of an LLB and have deferred it while I come over here. Also reiterated how wonderfully fantastic and clever I am...then shot that out of the water by telling them how many qualifications I have ;) I'm so not even mentioning to people that I'm working on a PhD! Speaking of which, I had a look at some stuff on my PhD today. All I could think of was, 'Oh, I should read [insert book/article that's packed away at mum's] - bugger, I don't have an electronic copy of that'. Finding out that SPSS wasn't working on this new computer pissed me off. Now it seems that f'king EndNote isn't working either. Why me? C'mon. What've I ever done to deserve this? Oh, right. It's not so much what I've done, it's more what I *haven't* done. Fine. Bite me then! ;) I did do some thinking about things, that's a start :)

What else did I do today? Oh, sent a few emails (just realised I'd sidetracked myself again). Nothing exciting to tell people at the moment. Wait 'til I have a job - there'll be less ;) haha. Pottered around a few websites of companies that I'd heard of to see if they had any jobs with my name on them (funnily enough people don't seem to write my name in the person specification). Applied for another couple (on top of the ones I mentioned above - or didn't mention, whichever is the case). Sent another couple of emails as my time ran out, and then left. After the excitement that was the Internet cafe I went somewhere equally exciting. Bet you can't guess where! Go on. Try! Anyone? Fine, I went to the *drumroll, please* - supermarket! Yeah, yeah. I'm sure that's what you said. That was sooo much fun. I'm certain that they changed the layout around between last visit and this visit. I couldn't find anything I wanted (not knowing what I wanted had nothing to do with it, I'm sure). Picked up a few things to last me the week. It's amazing how far £20 will take you with groceries. Would've taken me further had it not been for the fact that I still had no pots & pans & mugs at home. Picked up a frypan and a couple of mugs (half the cost of the groceries) and a few other wee items. It may not be that healthy, but I am so loving dining on salad-filled pita pockets. They only take a couple of minutes to prepare; no mess; and most importantly, they're filling! Once I lose interest in these then I bet the grocery bill will go up a bit ;)

Spent the evening watching music videos that I've downloaded over the last couple of years. Ended up falling asleep with the computer on my chest at one point. Called it a night after that...

Seeyabye

Another week down (2/3)

Well, it's Friday again. Just on two weeks since I arrived and still no job! I am sick to death of not working. Figured that I'd go for a walk around St James's Park so wandered over there. Was just going through Queen Anne's gate (opposite the park) when my phone rang. It was the lady from the temp agency asking if I wanted a day's work. Did I what! I had half an hour to figure out how to get from where I was to their office. Turned out not to be so bad as I was only a couple of steps away from St James's station (circle line - whoo!). Also, luckily for me I'd thrown on some tidy clothes and not just a pair of jeans & a tee-shirt! Job was just some admin work (typing, copying, binding) at a Surveyor's office (£10/hr). Got there and was given a report to type up. The guy I was supposed to work for was at a meeting and needed it started by the time he got back. After about just on an hour it was finished and I wanted something else to do... Was quite a good wee place to work. The guy was surprised when I said that I could transcribe (okay, took me a couple of minutes to figure out how to use the digital system they had, but that was fine). Typed a few letters and such. All very piss easy stuff - although not knowing the lingo of the office I had to ask a few questions (especially to do with the more technical side of things), and there were a couple of times when, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't figure out what a word was on the dictaphone (just a wee dialect issue). Only thing now is that I really, more than before, want to get stuck into some real work! Was there for about 6 hours - £60 (less tax, whatever that is here). Good start to the £740 rent I have to pay at the end of the month ;) Shite, must fax the timesheet off today - will see if the Internet cafe has a fax.

I have to say, it was strange working in the "real world" and not the university. I don't know, there was quite a different feel to things. The university was very relaxed, but there's this...air...about it that I never sensed in this office (sure, it was only for a couple of hours, but still...). All going well more work will come in soon :)
Temping is an odd feeling. Walking in, knowing you're only there for the day, and doing what you have to before you leave. A couple of jobs I had to leave part-finished. I didn't like that as I felt I should see them right through. Nevermind, I'll get over that feeling sooner rather than later. That reminds me, walking out of this office wasn't as easy as one might think. I got bloody lost in all the corridors! Luckily one of the blokes I was working with was behind me and pointed me in the right direction. Turns out I was taken upstairs a different way than what I came down. See - geographically challenged (I didn't think I remembered the courtyard on the way up!). Once I finally left, I had to try to figure out the way back to the tube. Done! Without the A-Z! Got on the tube and couldn't understand what all the fuss was about peak-hour... Well, that was until I got to Kings Cross St. Pancreas. Talk about sardines in a can! Not that I eat canned sardines, but I'd be picking that even they have more room than what I had. No such thing as personal space in the tube at rush-hour ;)

Kinda thought that I'd be more knackered by the time I got home than what I was, especially seeing as how I haven't done a full day's work since...the last time. I guess going for my long walks etc (y'know, that exercise stuff they say is supposed to be good for you) has helped in that respect. Also, the work wasn't that taxing on the mind. This may sound extremely sad (you don't need to comment) but I enjoyed doing the transcription - I reckon the fact that they were only short letters and not 30min+ interviews might've had something to do with that ;)

Tomorrow I might just try and pop these up online when I go to the Internet cafe. Must be about a week behind - but fear not, I am doing them daily (that I've lasted nearly two weeks is just about world record material!).

Seeyabye

PS: The comment about world record material made me think of an ad I saw on the tube. It was for some men's health stuff (muscle builder? Dunno. Didn't pay *that* much attention to it). They used "World Champion swimmer [obviously some Pommy swimmer]" to endorse it. Since when did the Pom's have world champion swimmers? Made me laugh anyway.