Well, hello there 2011

Having stopped and thought about it, a few major financial and health issues aside, 2010 was actually a pretty good year. It was the year of the ITBN! There were amazing conventions, fantastic concerts and even better friends. I moved back out of my mum’s house, and am getting on with much better again as a result. I lost weight. I came off the anti-depressants, I realised I don’t want to be dead and think I may have won this battle in the war against depression. I don’t feel guilty for feeling happy.

2011 started off having fun with friends, and I think that’s what I like the year to be about. Good times with good people… you can’t go wrong with that. And really, since it’s only like 2 hours to Louise’s and 3 hours to Susan’s, there’s no excuse!
I’m seeing Good Charlotte in February. I’d like to go to more concerts because it’s been far too long since I’ve been to any recently and I fuckin’ miss it!
There’s A6 and A7. There’s T2. There’s Con 1. Depending on guests, there’s Vampire Ball 2 and Roadhouse 2.

I’m starting the year with a better paid job, a 12 week contract, that’s closer to home and better paid.
I want to get my bookshelves moved to my place. This is my priority. I miss my books.
I want to get a cheap two-seater sofa, put it where my desk is, then turn my TV round so I don’t sit in bed all the time.
That looks and sounds like a plan. I approve

Tis The Season…

Everyone around me seems to be getting in a right tizzy over Christmas, stressing about decorations, excited and all a buzz. But in all honesty, I feel pretty damn ambivalent about the whole affair. I’m not a Christmas person. I’m not religious so it’s not a particularly important day for me. I don’t have children, so it’s not a particularly exciting day either. To me, it’s just another day. A ridiculously commercialised day.

I did have a miniature burst of festiveness last weekend. I was in ASDA and the Salvation Army band were playing carols so I had a good sing-a-long… although I did get annoyed because I couldn’t remember the words to Good King Wenceslas.
I wish there were still traditional carol services… because that I would go to. It would envoke some wonderful childhood memories of going to the Midnight Carol Service with my dad when I was very little and falling asleep on his lap mid-service

I’ve bought a couple presents – for my best friend, my mum, my girlfriend.
I’m not sending physical cards due to epic levels of being broke – but I will be sending out e-cards, probably over the coming week.

The only thing I can really look forward to is a long weekend. With Christmas being on the Saturday, and Boxing Day on the Sunday we get the Monday and Tuesday off work as Bank Holidays. Of course, two days with no work = two days with no money. And to make matters worse, the entire factory is closed for the period between Christmas and New Year so in fact thats an entire week with no work, therefore an entire week with no money. I have asked the agency to find me work for that week, else I’m going to have to do a rapid reclaim of my benefits. Epic Do Not Want there!

So there you go. Christmas is nothing special in my house, it’s just any other day.
Bah Freaking Humbug

Talking with you is sort of the conversational equivalent of an out of body experience.

Monday, it seems, despite getting off to a rather rocky start was a pretty good day.

The rocky start was pulling up at the petrol station and realising I’d not got my purse. Turn around, drive 15 minutes back home, grab my purse, fill up… and drive straight into roadworks in Norton *facepalm* I got to work 10 minutes late but hey, who exactly is going to know that since… oh, right I was all on my own.

With no work.

I got a lot of Frontierville missions accomplished mind!

No, to be fair, there was a fair amount of post that lasted me probably through til mid-afternoon but then I was going slowly and playing Frontierville at the same time. If I’d concentrated solely on invoices I would have been done by lunch.

A moment of self-congratulation and pride happened too. We had over £18k worth of cheques come in and I had to do the banking. Now, I know how to do the banking – credit control basics people! – but have never done it for QMP myself before. So getting that done made me feel quite good.

And then I had some fantastic news. The stress and panic of my assignments on Cleopatra and Cezanne was well worth it. I got my results back today with a 70/100.
Now, my assignment booklet says that 70 is

[a grade] awarded for work that is well-constructed, well-argued and clearly written; which is well supported by evidence or argument; and which shows and intelligent grasp of the study materials

The grade was split 34/50 for Cleopatra and 36/50 for Cezanne. My tutors comments were for Cleopatra

This was a very good answer in many respects – well done! You responded sensitively to Dio’s account and picked up on most of the more significant aspects of his attitude towards Cleopatra. You left out references in a few places and at one point repeated something you had already said but in a different way. However you established Dio’s place among other Roman authors who criticized Cleopatra, quite clearly. You tend to write in short paragraphs: note where i have suggested you merge them. Otherwise – great!

and for Cezanne

This is a sensitive response to Cezanne’s painting, Paula, and I could tell you understood the course materials and why the work was so scathingly dismissed. You made some important points but at times your phrasing is a bit askew, especially in the second half of the essay. Perhaps you might like to have another attempt at some of these sentences for TMA02?

But a good start to the course overall – well done!

So yes, very pleased indeed.
*PREEEENS*

And huge thank you to EVERYONE for the handholding and backrubbing and cheerleading.

I think it’s going to be one of those days

I wake up hurting from last night, I pop a handful of Ibuprofen. I start getting ready for work. I step into my lil en-suite and frown because my feet are suddenly wet. I reverse, turn the bathroom light on. My carpet is rather soggy. I have a leak from my sink. I swear, I grab a bucket and put it under the sink. I call my landlord. My landlord calls a plumber. I call work.

Next step: soggy carpet is going on the line.

Then: I wait for a plumber.

*facepalm*

Here We Go Again

*sigh*
I had a probationary review hearing at work on Thursday – and lost my job with immediate effect, one weeks pay in lieu of notice. Too much absence. Getting really sick of this shit now. Not quite sure why I’m bothering to go out and get a job when I just lose it again. Clearly, I fail.

Going to go ring up the benefits people, discuss options. I know I want to go through a claim for DLA for mental and physical and then maybe I don’t know, incapacity rather than jobseekers.
I’ll see what they’ve got to say

My mum’s trying to get me to get out of bed but really? What;s the point. It’s not like I’ve got anything to get out of bed for.
I’d much rather lay here, comfy, watching Angel and reading.

I’m almost caught up on Angel.
Actually ended up enjoying S4 – the whole Jasmine plot was great. I’m also just incredibly amused at how Joss Whedon seems to keep reusing the same stable of actors!
S5 so far… I mean yay for Spike but the whole running Wolfram & Hart business. That’s just a HUGE WTF with me, it really is.
I’m eye-rolling constantly
How long til I get the Tiny Texan back?