A word of advice to all you wibloggers. If you are tempted to run yourself a bath whilst trying to upgrade your virus checker and sort out why your printer isn’t working – don’t!
Monthly Archives: July 2004
too busy….
……..writing %”*%! job applications to blog properly so I thought I’d “entertain” you with some quotes from my current letters of application!
“I believe the particular strengths I can bring to team working are a close attention to detail, accuracy and the fostering of a sense of importance in meeting schedules and deadlines. I am good at analysing problems and evaluating ideas and suggestions and I also enjoy being creative in devising and developing systems and solutions.”
“I am accustomed to working without immediate supervision and deciding my own day-to-day work priorities. I believe my oral and written communication skills to be excellent. It is personally important for me to be able do a task well, and I gain significant job satisfaction from a careful and thorough approach to my work.”
Well what do you think? Would you give me a job?
when your feelings and mind are going in opposite directions!
On Thursday I got extremely panicky about my job situtation. Much more anxious than the situation really warranted I think, but knowing that mentally is one thing… when your feelings insist on continuing to panic, that’s another.
On Friday Personnel came up with 2 potential redeployment posts and that calmed me a bit. I had to get my application in for one of them by this morning (hence absence of blogging over weekend) and the other has to be submitted by next Monday. The first one in particular is one I think I could do quite well, even if it isn’t as interesting as my current post – so – now I just wait to see if they think I am worth interviewing!
I had a counselling session today and I feel much calmer now after that! It’s really good to have support when things are going rather pear-shaped emotionally!
I’m really thankful that God has provided both the 2 potential jobs plus the counselling support. It feels like he recognised it was all getting too much and that I needed a bit of support and encouragement! 
Thank you too to anyone who is praying for me! It’s appreciated greatly. I’ll keep you up to date with news about interviews etc.
As well as all of this, my Mum is due to have 2 knee joint replacements in the near future but they still won’t give her a date for surgery as they have now decided she has a heart murmur and they need to investigate to see if that is anything significant first. as long as there is nothing seriously wrong with her heart she should have the surgery before the end of August as after that she falls off the end of the new NHS waiting deadlines! Hopefully the new joints will mean that she is more mobile and in less pain (though her recent activities have included decorating the living room and pickaxing the garden so she isn’t letting it stop her doing things!).
Well that’s all for now folks – I need to sleep!
Table tales
Q: What do you get when you cross my old kitchen table, my new IKEA table with a large van and 3.45 wibloggers?
A: A Never Conforming Legally Blonde Gremlin Artisan ( I think!)
On Friday night I was just collapsing after a week at work (and my Pilates class) when the phone rang. “Hi this is Never Conforming. Would it be OK for Legally Blonde and me to come and collect that table tonight?”
I was wondering what to do with my old table now I have my new amazing converta-shrinka- table from IKEA, when Never Conforming moved to the Other City and needed a table. I live in the “Other Other City”, Legally Blonde (with Gremlin of course) came to visit Never Conforming with a large van full of wardrobes and the rest is history. I’m not sure that my directions were very good though (sorry guys!), but they got here eventually!
It was a bit strange to be approached in the driveway to my flats by a person with a totally unknown face asking “Are you Arti?”, but lovely to meet wibloggers in real life, even if they do nick your rice cakes! 
(actually I blame Gremlin for that one!).
In other news (as Yay would say), my boss officially infoms me about the end of my contract, I stand up to my Mother in insensitive mode and a faint rattling is heard from an up-till-now unknown skeleton in the family cupboard! More about some of these another time!
Broccoli burgers and an IKEA addiciton
The fact the I am feeling really exhausted today is entirely self-inflicted and my own fault – however please do still feel free to sympathise with me if you wish!
Yesterday I had an IKEA craving. There is a particular table of theirs that folds down and will be very space saving and I wanted to buy for my flat. Once I get the urge to go to IKEA, its very hard to resist! The only problem was that my nearest IKEA did not have the particular table that I wanted in stock. So,…. after work and after my Pilates class, I drove to my ‘nearest but one’ IKEA (a round trip of 80 miles). Of course once there I had to do the whole IKEA browsing experience (and have a slice of their cake made with Dime Bars). I got home at about 10.15pm (with table and about £25 of other assorted items that I didn’t know I wanted till I got there!)
So today I am really shattered and have done nothing much but eat and sleep. The IKEA hangover!
One of the problems of using Tesco Online for your groceries is that occasionally you order the wrong quantities because you aren’t actually seeing them visually as you buy! Consequently I have enough broccoli to provide the entire vegetable complement for a family of six – for a week!
Does anyone know any good broccoli recipes? Especially as I’ve decided I don’t like raw broccoli crudites – despite what the detox diet book says. (The jury is still out on sunflower seeds too!) Actually that’s given me a thought – does anyone out there have a giant hamster that needs feeding?
Another day…….
I’ve had a frustrating day today and I’ve got quite wound up about another colleague’s actions at work. I want to switch off and forget about it but I’m finding that quite hard! I was getting really very very upset and frustrated earlier on in the evening until I decided that part of the problem was that I was getting angry and frustrated with myself for not just being able to switch off – which was of course making my feelings even worse. So I’ve decided now to accept I’m not handling things as perfectly as I would like, but to be kind to myself neverthless!
Being kind may involve a Yay inspired activity such as eating ice-cream!
So – other news
I have decided (again) to try and do a bit more work on sorting out the flat. It’s not actually a disaster zone (yet) – just not as tidy and as organised as I would like.
On Saturday I worked through a large pile of paperwork on the table and cleaned the kitchen
Yesterday I cleaned the bedroom and did another load of washing
Today I have re-waxed my walking boots and put them away – oh and used some wood ring remover to deal with a mark on my computer desk. (Yes I know, but it’s been a bad day ALRIGHT!)
Now that’s just reminded me that yesterday’s washing is still out on the line and I need to bring it in as it is likely to rain tonight. Then again I’ve just had a shower!! What’s the betting it’ll be one of the few times I actually bump into one of my neighbours if I risk going out to get it in my nightwear?
A tired update
I’m just sooo tired tonight, so not a very long update.
I had what you might call an “interesting” weekend. On Saturday I decided I really needed to do some counselling-type work that I’d been procrastinating about. I sat down to write some stuff and although the stuff I was writing seemed fairly mild, I suddenly started crying. Then I cried in a way I don’t quite ever remember crying before. It was pretty overwhelming really and in way, even a bit scary. I expect it was a “good thing” though since then I’ve maybe not surprisingly, just felt really tired!
On a plus note, M, my friends’ nine year old asked me specially on Sunday if I would go round to his house to help him put up the new tent that he and his brother have just got, in preparation for a family camping trip at the end of the month. It feels lovely to know I was wanted specially by him, and I hope I did alright on the tent erecting! M and his brother then promptly had a fight in said tent so I expect that means that everything was fine!
diets and rich tea biscuits
So nearly a week has gone by without me writing a blog entry! Now how did that happen?
On Friday I bought a detox diet book, not because the I actually want to do the detox diet proper but because I know I need to eat more healthily and the recipes in the book seemed really nice. I am pleased to report that since then I have spent the whole weekend eating my way through a packet of rich tea biscuits! They are just so eminently “dunkable” in a cup of tea. I have, I think, eaten more fruit and veg than normal though so that must be something of an improvement, mustn’t it?
