Beckardi

Retail Therapy

2009-08-26T13:04:15Z

So, when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.

As anyone who's lived with me can verify, I have an incredibly bad habit of having a major shopping spree whenever things are going particularly badly. For some reason, I always feel that things won't be quite so scary if I have exactly the right outfit.

So as you can imagine, the propect of dental surgery (combined with the excuse of 'I'm-starting-work-in-a-few-weeks-obviously-I-need-new-clothes') has pretty much led to an entirely new wardrobe. Including bags, shoes and jewellery. I have EVEN bought clothes specifically for the teacher training days (I think this is a tad excessive, even for me). It's now reached the point where I enter Debenhams and spontaneously sing a bit of Franz Ferdinand to the money in my bank account: "I know I won't be leaving here, with you".

Anyway, this morning I went shopping - I'm catching the train to Mum's in a few hours. And I bought a new handbag (despite the fact I own several), matching shoes, a bag to carry my marking in (purely because it had an Owl pattern on, and I cannot resist things with Owls on - but seriously, how funky is the bag?!), and many, many sparkly things from Accessorize, on the basis that they are Sparkly and this is Good.

Basically, I am quite stressed. I think my bank account probably is too now, so at least I'm not alone!

Meh. Not looking forward to tomorrow at all. I've got 4mg of Valium from the doctors - he said to take 2mg and see how that affected me, whereas I'm quite tempted to knock back the lot half an hour before the appointment. We'll see. The doctor I saw was lovely and so understanding... I was expecting to have to really argue my case to get the prescription, but once he saw how worked up I was he was really sympathetic. So that was good, at least. And I am quite looking forward to trying Valium!

And on the positive side, I'll get to see all my friends this weekend which will be fab :) And then when I get back I'll be starting work, which I really am quite looking forward to now!

Right, suppose I should go pack since I'm leaving the house in 50 mins. See you on the other side!

I'm Under Attack!

2009-08-18T08:41:46Z

YUCK! There is a bug the size of freaking Australia in my bathroom! Okay, maybe not quite Australia. Possibly Queensland.

Seriously, it's huge. I was just merrily washing my face, as you do, when I saw something scuttle next to the bin. Since I didn't have my glasses on I assumed it was quite a large spider, and I backed away VERY quickly and shoved my glasses on. And then I stared.

It's about two-and-a-half inches long, VERY chunky, sort of cockroachy looking. It's got massive hind legs and long twitchy antennae. And boy, can the thing move. Last I checked it was on the bathroom floor, wiggling those antennae ominously. If it could talk, I think it would be cackling evilly and saying 'You can run but you can't hide.' It is THAT vile-looking.

So I did what any girl in this situation would do, I grabbed my make-up and toothbrush from the bathroom in a leave-no-man-standing-and-for-gods-sake-run type way, and fled to the bed (higher territory) and texted Kyle who's just gone to work. He told me to shut it in but... there's a gap under the door. If it gets out it'll get onto my CLOTHES. Ugh, bug contamination, gah!

Thankfully Jen's coming round at ten so we can laminate things (ahh, teacher-ness) and then go up to my classroom to stick pictures up everwhere! So hopefully she can deal with The Bug.

Yuck... I hope the rest of today will be better!

Just had a thought - the first time there's a spider in my classroom I have NO idea what I'm going to do. I may have to get my pink spider catcher from Mum's and take it to school just in case!!

La la la....

2009-04-27T19:16:47Z

I just started to update with my usual blather, then realised that I honestly have nothing amazingly earth-shatteringly exciting to say... except that I am so, so, so very tired. I think I may actually finish this lesson plan in the morning, which is very naughty and also possibly entirely neccesary for my sanity.

Aside from knackeredness, life is good. Still job-hunting, still no luck, but I'm still confident I'll find something. It's just over 30 school days until the end of my course now, and that is both terrifying and awesome. And in big happy news, Kyle and I have sorta semi-properly started house-hunting - moving in together in June! I cannot WAIT :)

Also, I have a confession that I need to make: I have become addicted to Mills and Boon's Regency books. I am very, very ashamed (but not enough to stop reading them!). Also, I bought some Georgette Heyer from Amazon today, which is slightly more high-brow, but only marginally. Kyle has been mocking me immensely for this, and I can't say that I blame him...

Anyway. Sleep time!

Happy Times!

2008-11-24T17:03:00Z

I've just impulse bought a microfiche reader. I feel this has taken my genealogy obsession to a new height - but hey, since I never have the time to visit the record office AND I happen to have the microfiche for around five Bedfordshire parishes in the post to me, looks like I'm creating my own record office. God knows where the bloody thing's going to go, but YAY I'm so excited.

Most women impulse buy shoes or chocolate. I buy a microfiche reader. Sad but true!

Anyway, I've got an observed lesson with my tutor coming in from Uni tomorrow. *sigh* So I really need to finalise my preparation for that - not to mention get my damn portfolio in order. Looks like another long night ahead...

YAY I own a microfiche reader!!! :)

Behold!!!

2008-11-10T18:34:39Z

Are these, or are these not, the most AMAZING socks known to mankind????

Yes, I am a mature, responsible teacher. But they make my toes ladybirds and thus I am ignoring any inkling of maturity!!!!! YAY LADYBIRDS!!!!

If you also wish to behave like a 5-year-old and have hours of fun wiggling your toes and pretending the ladybirds are talking to each other, then go to Topshop - they're only £4! Well, £3.80 with student discount, hehe!

This has made my day :)

Aaaaargh

2008-10-29T17:29:57Z

Today has been the most unproductive day since I first tried to draft my Freshwater Biology coursework. *sigh* You know when staring at the ceiling suddenly takes precedence over ANYTHING else? And you're always going to start work 'in ten more minutes'? Yep, I've had one of those days. I'm putting it down to PMS, but I suddenly have zero motivation to work on my assignment, and it's driving me nuts because I really want to do well on it... but I've barely looked at the frickin' thing all day. Or I'll read a few sentences, groan, and then head back to blogs/news/LJ/http://thisissand.com. *sigh*

I think I'm just going to have to draw a line under today, head over to Emma's for dinner and commiseration on the work-front, then maybe tidy up my room.

Anyway, today has also been shit because the Co-Op had no Pop Tarts. I'm in uproar and becoming increasingly convinced that this is a sure violation of my human rights. Or something. No Pop Tarts indeed...

In ACTUAL news, I'm on half term holidays right now. I've been a bit poorly but *touch wood* I'm better now - unfortunately the same can't be said for Kyle who's been ill for ages now and has missed a week of work. I'm pretty worried about him, and I know he's getting stressed out. Hopefully he'll be better soon and it'll all be reet :)

The last couple of weekends I've been away. Weekend-before-last was my grandparents' Golden wedding anniversary. I normally find my family a bit stressy, but I actually had a really fun time. My Grandparents were really sweet too - Granddad made us all get a bit teary when he said it had been the best fifty years of his life, that he wouldn't change a thing and no-one could ever have replaced Nanna. That was pretty adorable :) Aside from that it was the usual drunken family gathering, and all I can say is you haven't lived until you've seen pensioners playing with glowsticks...

Oh, there was also an incident where Mum nearly punched one of the guests. He patted my ass, she got mad. It was impressively vicious, she waved a fork in his face and everything. The immortal words "Don't ever touch my daughter again" were uttered and it was all quite Jeremy Kyle. Anyway he's not family and we have it on good authority that he won't be invited back, unsurprisingly.

Last weekend I headed back to the good old Small Home Town for Kim's birthday. I hadn't been planning to go, but Kyle was ill and it looked like I was going to have a really quiet weekend, so I made a last minute change of plan... Of course I didn't tell Kim, that would have taken all the fun out of it! I got Sonia in on the plan, and when we met Kim the guys made a human wall in front of me for the full effect... Hehe, she cried! Anyway it was a great evening, we went for a meal and it was sooooo nice to see everyone... and Kim has a bump!!

So yes... that's what I've been up to! Aside from that it's mostly been trying to draft this assignment and failing quite spectacularly. *sigh* It's stressing me out, but I will get there. Eventually. At the moment I'm more worried because I'm using up a LOT of my free time attempting to draft this work and my lesson planning for three lessons I'm teaching next week just hasn't happened yet.

But on the plus side, I could still be working on the hotel reception. There's always a positive angle!!

Now onto Neighbours, more chocolates and then Emma's for dinner... Oh, and forgot to mention that The Curse Of My Laptops has struck again (but with no spilling of wine or shoving power cables in USB ports this time - at least that I'm aware of!). The screen's been a little dodgy for a year now, but yesterday I knocked it in the floor during a particularly mad dash to answer the door for the pizza guy, and now I keep having to fiddle with the connector at the back to get the computer to run properly... I can't let it run on battery because the battery life is shit. *sigh* Well, this one lasted two years which is more than most of mine have... I am THIS close to ordering one of the Dell Studio laptops (in pink, naturally!). I think I'll glance over my finances and then maybe just take the plunge. I've wanted a new one for ages anyway, but this one has problems and I'm convinced that it's just going to randomly die one day - probably when I've done a shitload of work and haven't backed up - so maybe I should just go for it.

Also, it comes in pink. I'm sold on the logic. :)

Right... Neighbours O'Clock!

:)

2008-10-24T20:59:05Z

According to various news sources, Apple just donated $100k to the campaign AGAINST Proposition 8 (which would outlaw same-sex marriages in California). According to Apple, it's a "civil rights" issue and not a political issue. Fuck, yes. Suddenly the hundreds of pounds I've spent on iPods, iTunes and my iPhone over the years all seem totally worth it. :)

Yay, Apple! Thank you for helping me justify buying my iPhone just that little bit more!

The last time I freaked out, I just kept looking down

2008-09-07T16:23:13Z

Okay, forgive me but I just HAVE to ask this: is anyone else embarrasingly absolutely loving that Miley Cyrus song??

It just came on the Top 40, and I was shamefully bopping around my room and singing into the iPhone! Please tell me I'm not the only one suffering this dreadful affliction?!

Damn catchy song...

Also, realised I totally read too much Perez - I was singing along thinking "but her best friend's not called Lesley..." Oh, the shame.

Updatey Goodness

2008-09-05T08:55:43Z

Well after all that stress my placement is all sorted out. The school I really wanted rang ME the night before I was going school-hunting, offering me a 2-day placement. So yay :)

Neighbours are still loud, but I've spent a few nights at Kyle's so had a few good nights sleep. And speaking of, Kyle got offered a job at the first place he interviewed at. The guy they hired quit, so Kyle got the job he really wanted in the end :) I'm so happy for him!!

And finally, my little cup of happiness runneth over when I found out that the record office in Worcester is an LDS record distribution centre! Basically this means that all the brilliant genealogical records held by the Mormons are now available to me! I've already ordered two sets of records and I can't wait for them to arrive!

Finally this time next week is my first day of uni! Eek, I'm excited but nervous! Can't believe that a month ago I was stressing about my interview. Now... Here I am! :)

I'm here!

2008-09-01T09:44:27Z

*waves*

Sadly none of my new neighbours have the decency to have an unsecured wireless network, but thanks to the wonder that is the iPhone I've still got some connection to the outside world! There's a nice-looking pub at the end of my street that offers free internet, so I may head down there for a pint sometime and investigate!

So far I'm really liking the new house. There's no lounge, but the kitchens very modern and nice, plus it has a table and chairs so I guess this will be the social area! My bedroom is very small, but I like it alreay. It's cosy, and now my stuffs unpacked it's looking good! Also, I have a landlord who may actually rival donald, which of course makes me feel right at home. :)

The only downside so far is the noise! My room overlooks our yard - and the neighbours yards and kitchens, and the yards of the houses that back onto us. For some reason the acoustics amplify everything so basically it's an eavesdroppers paradise, but will be hell for a Sunday morning hangover!! Also, every noise the neighbours make sounds like it's coming from downstairs! It freaked me out on the first night, I kept sending Kyle to investigate!

Anyway so far so good. Kyles coming over later (am absolutely loving living ten mins down the road) and I've got loads of errands to run! Tomorrow I'm going round the local schools to sort out those two days experience I need... If that doesn't work out I do have a plan b and plan c, but they're in Manchester and Bridlington respectively, would be awesome if I could find something in Worcester!

Right, time to dry my hair I think!

Only shooting stars break the mould...

2008-08-29T10:13:29Z

So, I'm moving house tomorrow!

This morning my CRB check came through the door - all fine, as expected - and the paperwork from Uni telling me how to register online, which I've now done! Ack, this is all starting to seem rather REAL all of a sudden. Hit a major iceberg with the online registration, though, as my printer is out of action at the moment and it required me to PRINT my online registration 'certificate' - gah. I'm trying to get through to the registration office to see if they'll send me one in the post, otherwise I'm not going to be able to pick up my ID/Library card.

Two weeks today I'll be starting my course! I'm feeling excited/terrified/optimistic/wanting-to-crawl-under-my-duvet-and-hide and any number of emotions in between! I think it's all finally hit me, and I am genuinely looking forward to doing the PGCE and teaching, but I'm also shit-scared it's all going to go horribly wrong. It's like going to Uni for the first time in a way; the moving house, living with unknown people, making friends etc, although I am lucky that I've already got Kyle in Worcester. His best friend's also there, at Uni, so I'll probably meet a tonne of people through him! But I know it's going to be so utterly different from Uni the first time round. I'm not going to be going out partying most of the time (even if I wanted to - I'm so lame nowadays, last night I came home early from the pub crawl because I wanted a cup of tea and to do some genealogy, and I'm not even kidding!) and I know the workload is going to be immense. I do feel ready for it all, but I'm just getting a little nervous now. Once I start I'll be fine, I know I will... Right now it's more the house move that's freaking me out! I think if I knew the people and I'd seen the house then I wouldn't be quite this nervous... It's just the unknown, I guess.

That said I'm looking forward to seeing Kyle and spending time with him before my course starts :) And being ten minutes drive apart is going to be really nice.

Anyway, I'm sure once I'm there it'll be fine. I've got a week to settle in, arrange my two-day placement (although I'm calmer now that I have a Plan B in Bridlington; a friend-of-a-friend is a teacher and said it won't be a problem to do it there if I can't find anything in Worcester) and do some shopping. I need to buy a few more clothes, a load of stationary and a bunch of kitchen stuff! Thankfully I got paid today - about £200 more than I was expecting. That was a very good start to my day :)

Right, suppose I should get up and get a move on with my packing, really. I'm being very strict - I'm hardly taking any of my books!!!

I'll probably be offline-ish for a few weeks, I'm not sure what the internet situation's going to be like. Unless any of my new neighbours have the decency to have an unsecured wireless network (I can keep on dreaming!) then I'll only be online via the iPhone or at Kyle's... Hopefully the girls are wanting to get the internet installed in the house (I can't picture students NOT needing to be on Facebook 24/7) but failing that I'll hopefully get it sorted myself - I need the net to survive, damnit! But at least I have the iPhone... I won't be entirely out of contact! :)

I can't believe all this is really happening... life is bloody crazy!

And onto the packing...

beckardi @ 2008-08-28T10:54:00

2008-08-28T10:09:02Z

Just a quick update (cos I'm meant to be getting ready for The Pub Crawl), but all is good! I finished work yesterday; it was rather bittersweet in the end, I was more sad than I'd expected. I never like goodbyes, but I was really touched by the amount of staff who came by reception to give me a hug and wish me all the best. Loads of people told me to keep in touch over facebook, and hopefully I'll be catching up with a few people at Christmas - whether or not that happens is another matter entirely, but the thought was there and it meant a lot!

It was Alex's day off so I didn't expect to see him, but he and his very pregnant wife, Anka, came in especially to say goodbye. They bought me a bouquet of flowers, a Good Luck card, and stayed for a nice chat. I was really, really touched by that! Considering the amount of times I've wound Alex up by not really giving a damn about the 'proper' way to do things on reception (he has OCD and is very meticulous, whereas I don't care how I get from A to B as long as everything balances at the end of the night!) I was really, really touched.

I then spent the next hour tidying and organising the reception for the first (and last) time in my life, just because Alex was on an early today and I was touched by the flowers!

Anyway, I wasn't so sad that I regret handing my notice in - I'm free, finally!!! Also, payday's tomorrow; and due to the extra three days I did (plus the two or so days' holiday I've accumulated) should have a bit of money heading into my account at the end of September, which is always rather nice!

In more important news, I'm now 22! I am now over the hill, elderly and decrepit, hehe. It feels odd saying 22; I know you're all going to laugh at me, but it does sound old, I feel like I should be a lot more grown-up! Oh well... Currently eating chocolate rum birthday cake for breakfast. Not grown up at all! :)

I love my life so much at the moment it scares me. I'm free of a job I hated, I'm got into Uni for a course I'm really excited about, I'm moving to Worcester this weekend, I have the loveliest boyfriend and the most amazing friends in the world, I'm finally getting somewhere further back in my family tree research after being at dead ends for so long, I'm 22 and I'm going on an all day pub crawl with my friends... My life rocks :)

Anyway, time to go and get ready!!! Have decided my birthday is the perfect outing for my black and white gingham dress (less schoolgirly than it sounds - it's adorable) and my New Shoes! :)

It's the final countdown!

2008-08-27T12:36:28Z

Just one more shift at work until I'm a free woman. I can honestly say, hand-on-bible-over-heart, I have no regrets about handing my notice in when I did. I hate my job, I don't want to be there, and the sooner I'm out of the entire situation the better, basically! I do like the people and will miss them, but not enough to stay! And all the people who ARE nice are also thinking of leaving...

Even if the working conditions were better and I wasn't doing this course, I still don't think I'd stay. The customers are utter arseholes!! Yesterday I had a guy who checked-in and went absolutely MENTAL because his room was a non-smoking room. I did try to explain the concept of the smoking ban in small words of one syllable that he could understand, however "Oh but THAT doesn't apply to hotels" was his point of view and he WOULD NOT LISTEN. I also tried to explain that our booking reference (which he was 'helpfully' waving in my face) didn't offer a smoking room - "but I wrote it in the notes section that I wanted a smoking room, SURELY you should have RUNG me and I would have arranged to stay somewhere where I CAN smoke in my room, that's just EXCEPTIONALLY poor service". *sigh* It turned into a bit of a stand-off, I had to actually ring management upstairs to confirm that no, we didn't have smoking rooms because he simply refused to believe me! When the message had finally sunk in, he glared at me saying "Well that's an irritation." He repeated this phrase around ten times.

Utter arsehole. I do hate people!

Anyway, I didn't spent my bank holiday wallowing in the mud at Leeds Festival as planned, I decided that since I need pennies for rent and food until my bursary begins in October, the sensible thing was to sell it on. I'm semi-gutted about this, but I managed to sell it on over eBay for £400 (face value was £145) so that soothed the pain somewhat! And it means I can probably survive September without having to borrow off Mum, which is the main thing. Also on the plus side of not-being-at-Leeds-Fest I had a really great girly night in with Sarah on Friday; it involved getting very drunk on rum and archers and was rather awesome! We looked at dresses on Asos and sent messages to boys she fancies on facebook. Basically we acted like fifteen-year-olds raiding their parents' alcohol cupboard and it was brilliant (at least until the hangover hit on Saturday... ow, ow, ow!)

Incidentally, speaking of bank holiday weekend - I worked the Monday and discovered that we don't get paid ANY extra for bank holiday Monday. Bastards.

Anyhow, this time next week I'll be living in Worcester. I'm moving in next Saturday hopefully, into a house I've only seen in photos, and I'm pretty excited about the whole thing! I can't wait to start my course, although I am starting to get really nervous now. That said, I can't wait to get going, I think it's just pre-Uni jitters that are worrying me at the moment. I've been doing loads of reading and I feel - well not prepared, but I'm definitely getting a sense of my having made the right decision, despite the nerves. And I keep trying to tell myself that even if I've made a mistake (which I'm 99% sure I haven't) at least I'm taking a chance on something. It's better than staying in a dead-end job and not knowing, isn't it!

The only thing that's really stressing me out really is the condition regarding my place on the course - I need to arrange a two-day placement in school to observe lessons BEFORE my course starts. I've sent letters and made MANY phone calls (often from the back office at work, heh) however since it's still the summer holiday's no-one's gotten back to me yet. *sigh* This is cutting it close, even by my standards! I'm trying to stay positive and I keep thinking that if it would be so hard to find somewhere to let me go in for two days they wouldn't have set it as a condition for my place, would they? So I'm sure it'll all work out - I'm so damn determined to do this, I'll find somewhere to take me! Plan B currently involves me going to Kim's Godmother's School in Manchester and staying in a hotel for two nights just so I can do the placement... yup I'm pretty damn serious about all this.

Anyway, it'll all work out. I've gotten this far - I never thought I'd even get onto the bloody course this late in the game, so I'm damned if one little two-day placement is going to stop me now!

Also I'm fully ready for my placements clothes-wise - as my 22nd birthday present Mum stocked up my wardrobe ready for when I'm in school, since 90% of my uniform is just NOT appropriate! I now own clothing from M&S and I feel this makes me a Real Grown Up. Yes, I'm scared too. However in my defence I did get loads of stuff from H&M and Dorothy Perkins, including The Most Amazing Purple Coat Known To Mankind, so I'm hoping that balances out the M&S!

Right, guess I should have some lunch and get ready for my final shift at work! :) Freedom beckons!!!

I could work my life away but why, I've got things to do before I die

2008-08-15T21:31:27Z

Today has been pretty bloody good!

Firstly, I handed my 2 weeks' in at work. "So now boss man, here's my two weeks, I'll make it short and sweet, so listen up" as the Sugarland song says! Alex got a bit annoyed and asked if I could work an extra week, finishing on the 5th September. I replied with a very firm and assertive "Hell, no!", the 29th will be my last day at that job. This is officially because I'm moving to Worcester on the 30th/31st August, and unofficially because I may stab myself in the eye with a stapler just to bring some excitement into my day if I have to be a receptionist much longer. I hate my job with a passion (I also fully intend to report them to SOMEWHERE after I leave, the stuff that goes on in that place just isn't on) and while I could move to Worcester on the 6th/7th, I want to have a good week and a bit to settle in before my course starts. I want time to get organised, chill out and get ready for everything.

Second, I will no longer be homeless in Worcester! Yesterday I randomly rang up regarding a spare room to let I'd found online, and I arranged a viewing today. Obviously I didn't go, being firmly stuck in Leeds for the moment, but Kyle went on my behalf and looked around. He took some pics too. My bedroom will be tiny, but it has the essentials and I can see some potential; it's quite cosy and very light - the furniture is a very dark brown which I hate, but once I've covered the wardrobe in my postcards and stuck posters over the wall I think it'll look miles better! I'm not taking nearly as much to Uni this time round, so I think I can handle having a smaller bedroom and I don't see it being a problem. The house doesn't have a lounge unfortunately, BUT the kitchen is rather lush and the rent is only £61 weekly (bills inclusive unless we go over) and it's about ten minutes' walk from Uni. I can't really argue with that!

Also, so far *touch wood* the housemates seem nice. I've spoken to one of the tenants-to-be, Emily. Okay we only chatted for five minutes on the phone, but so far she seems relatively normal and quite friendly and chatty, so fingers crossed we'll all get on okay. Even if we don't, though, I'll be out of the house a lot so... Not really a big deal.

So yeah, I'm just going to run with that (as I don't want to risk having no house) and hopefully it'll all turn out for the best! Sending the deposit now and signing a contract next week.

This is all happening so quickly!

Got a million forms to fill in over the weekend *groan* but it'll be worth it :)

26 days till my course starts...

happy dance

2008-08-14T10:32:43Z

I GOT IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep I came, I saw, I conquered and then I did the frickin happy dance! I got onto my PGCE course in Worcester, they told me straight after my interview (quite possibly THE most stressful day of my life!) that they would be delighted to offer me a place on the teacher training course, and now all is well with my world! I still cannot believe it, I firmly believe that I am possibly the luckiest person EVER. I'm also starting to wonder if I'll ever begin a Uni course with more than a month's notice ;)

The interview was amazingly stressful. It was an entire day of group activities, a test, and an interview at the end; and they told us upfront that we'd find out today if we were going to be offered a place - so no pressure! I honestly thought I'd fucked it up; I was very quiet in the group task, and I did appallingly on the Physics part of my Science test. But the interview went really well and then they offered me a place - I nearly burst into tears!

There are just two conditions to my place; I have to arrange 2 days' observation in a school in September before our term starts - not a problem - and I have to brush up on my Physics!!! So I've spent this morning on eBay searching for GCSE revision guides going cheap so I can learn. Cannot believe I'm voluntarily studying Physics!!!

So yes, I'm now ringing round madly trying to organise bursaries and grants (yeah, good luck getting through to the Education Authority on A-level results day - I really didn't think this one through!), trying to find somewhere to live (and getting Kyle to conduct viewings for me as I can't get to Worcester anytime soon) and generally being stressed out. But you know what, I wouldn't have it any other way! I am SO amazingly hyped about moving to Worcester and doing this course, I may have already found somewhere to live and I'm just so utterly excited.

I really love my life. And the knowledge that today I will be telling work precisely where they can shove my job (I may even draw a Scientifically annotated diagram for them) is definitely keeping a smile on my face!

Oh and there's also a new addition to the family; my iPhone! I'm not even going to waste time describing how incredibly awesome it is, but trust me, it's a thing of beauty and wonder, and must be worshipped and revered. :)

I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so happy!

MASSIVE thanks to heza_uk who really helped me with my interview preparation :) :) :) I am so amazingly grateful to you for that, things wouldn't have gone nearly as well without your advice!!!

So yes... go me!!!!!!

Shine, shine, shine on...

2008-08-07T05:25:54Z

Never thought I'd say this, but... I actually have a new-found respect for Paris Hilton (just in case there's anyone who hasn't seen the potential President Hilton's response! to the John McCain ad!):

This week's been good so far; Mum and I saw Gone With The Wind at a one-off showing in the cinema on Monday, and oh my GOD it was incredible. That film was made to be on the big screen, there were so many bits you don't notice on the TV. Also I never realised how funny some parts of that film actually are! Anyway, it was amazing :) I've spent the rest of the week working crazy shifts, although I took time out for the pub quiz with the guys last night, and turns out it's the same format as the Scholars quiz in Aber which made me all homesick. We did amazingly crap though, came near the end although we didn't fail successfully enough to win the wooden spoon prize, damnit!

Kyle should be coming up this afternoon :) I can't wait! I've even tidied up for the occasion! It's annoying that I'll have loads of preparation for Monday to do, but oh well, we'll fit it in.

Grr guess I should start getting ready for work. I have the cramps from hell, I just want to curl up in bed and feel sorry for myself, damnit!

YAY!

2008-08-05T12:18:00Z

I have an interview. At Worcester. For my PGCE starting this September.

It is on Monday. Six days (said in the Geordie Big Brother voice).

I am terrified but hopelessly excited too, and this totally means Kyle and I have to reorganise our plans for this weekend. He's coming up on Thursday and *was* going to be heading back on Monday, but instead we'll be travelling down together on the Sunday; I'll leave Tuesday (the day he has an interview, actually) but it's worth it. And hey, we'll grab an extra day together, and if this works out we should be living around twenty miles apart next month!

I am crossing my fingers and my toes. I've prayed to everything I can think of, and I just keep thinking 'Please please please please please let me get this'. I don't think (with the exception of Kyle) I've ever wanted anything so much in my whole bloody life!

The only bad thing is that because of the interview's timing, I need to 'break cover' at work and admit to my head of reception, Alex, that I've applied for this course. I have Friday & Saturday off this week; he hasn't done next week's rotas yet, but I need a bloody good reason to take Monday & Tuesday off too. So instead of inventing a dying great-aunt Mildred or anything like that, I'm simply going to tell him the truth. What's he going to do, fire me??? I think he'll be quite nice about the whole thing, particularly after I explain that if I get on the course I'll be here until the beginning of September; which was probably around when I'd have been leaving anyway. The reception's understaffed at the moment, and he's a nice guy, I think it'll be okay. If there are any problems though, well, that's his problem. I AM going to this interview damnit!

I've given up trying not to get my hopes up. I have an interview, they are officially up. But fuck it, when you have a shot at making yourself happy, you'd be a fool not to believe in it and take it. Even if it's financially speaking quite a dreadful idea! Speaking of, I am officially saving money and trying to flog my life away on eBay again, so that if I need to fork out for a house deposit and the like, I may be able to afford it without selling my organs on the black market. Depending on how it goes, I may even consider doing something I never thought I would - selling my beloved LeedsFest ticket.

We'll see how it goes. Right now I need to start thinking about interview outfits (my black tulip skirt and a new blouse & jacket I think are in order - I know I'm trying to save money, but I really need to dress to impress!) and preparing for the interview. They're sending me info out in the post, I think I have to give a presentation or something... Scary! Of course this means that I'll be spending lots of mine and Kyle's weekend together preparing for the interview.

Oh and I just got an e-mail from a distant cousin saying she's finally placed Hannah Hinks - baptised in a neighbouring parish in Bedfordshire as Hannah Inks. I've been trying to work out where Hannah came from since I was 17... my cup of happiness pretty much runneth over :)

I'm sure work will take care of my good mood, though.

Eek

2008-07-30T15:30:27Z

I've just applied to Worcester; I'm roughly a week ahead of my estimate...

Please please please please please please PLEASE let this work out!

*prays*

Applying to Leeds now... but come on Worcester!

Life is funny, life's a mess...

2008-07-29T23:41:23Z

My old tutor, Helen, has written and submitted a reference for my PGCE application. And despite my worst fears about this taking weeks, it's all completed and we're still in July. Crossing fingers and touching all wood and fake wood within the room, I may actually get all this turned around in time! I've paid and sent my application toodling off over cyberspace to GTTR, who should be getting in touch with me in a few days and asking where I'd like to apply to, and then they'll send my application off to the Uni's of my choice...

We're getting there :)

Bless her, my tutor also wrote me a very nice e-mail which included the comment "Your dissertation will be be used as an example of 'here's how to do things properly' for years to come" *blush*

Anyway, hopefully the applications will reach the Universities by the end of this week. Things are really looking up!! My first choice will definitely be Worcester. It doesn't make the most financial sense (if I went to Leeds I could live at home) and I know it'd be the most stressful prior to the course as I'd have to be organising somewhere to live within a matter of weeks, but fuck it, I know that I'd regret not moving closer to Kyle if I didn't go for it. I honestly want to be in Worcester, I know I'd be happier, so that's my decision and I'm running with it. All that said, though, I'm applying to Leeds too and if that application is successful and the Worcester one isn't, then Leeds it is.

I'm just crossing my fingers, toes and everything right now for this!

Work is... interesting. Today wasn't too bad, in all fairness, and I actually had a few nice customers. However it's slowly but surely wearing me down! It doesn't help that I've only got one day off this week (I had a whole three days off for my graduation, so had to make up the extra day that I 'owe') which sucks soooooo bloody much.

In other news, I totally want an iPhone!

Blah

2008-07-29T00:12:51Z

Just a few thoughts from my shift today, which I cannot be arsed to turn into a rambly coherent entry:

Why, why, why, for the love of Ben & Jerry, does staying a hotel cause every single resident to believe they are God's own Special Little Snowflake, and The Rules therefore do not apply for them? Seriously, did I miss a memo or something? The Special Snowflake award for today goes to the gentleman who was trying to arrange an early check-in for his wife on Thursday. I'll put it this way - the rooms are vacated by 11am each day, often people check out as late as 12, and he wanted his wife to check in around midday. Not possible if you actually want housekeeping to have serviced your room, sorry and all that. Oh no, no, no. This wouldn't do at ALL! Even though I offered perfectly acceptable leisure facilities for her to get ready in, AND politely said I'd keep her luggage behind reception while she went off to her Precious Little Snowflake Convention or wherever, OBVIOUSLY this is disgusting. SURELY as a WOMAN I can understand that she wants to get ready in her own room! Yes, I can, however it ain't happening. Oh well this is preposterous, oh I never, put me through to your manager right away...

Painful. My manager told him the same thing, but OBVIOUSLY because it comes from a MANAGER it's gospel from on high and I am a lying little receptionist. Naturally.

Also, is there a point at which it becomes acceptable to not say "Hello, my name's Mr Jones, I believe I have a reservation?" and to instead substitute this sentence with slamming your hand down on the counter and announcing "Jones". I am having serious trouble fighting the urge to stand up, slam my own hand down in reply and reply "Rebecca" as clearly this is now an acceptable form of communication in some circles!

Special WTF Merit Award goes to the gentleman who came to my desk, a full two hours ahead of check-in time and announced his name and said he had a reservation. Full bonus points for the politeness and full sentence. I apologised that his room wouldn't be ready until 3pm, and he just replied "Oh, I know. I've stayed in hotels before, I know I can't check in until 3pm."

Right. So you're announcing your presence to me because...? You want a certificate? A cookie? A pat on the back? It was truly WTFBBQ territory... Also, he looked like he was wearing a pyjama top, it was all a bit disturbing.

Oh and to all the wedding guests from last night who left without paying or checking out... Thank you. That truly made my morning shift delightful, and I'm sure it absolutely made the morning of the woman who checked you all out - and paid for your rooms since you're family and all.

And my absolute biggest niggle about PEOPLE at the moment is the lack of general politeness. Sometimes I have to actually bite my tongue to keep from retorting "Please?" when I'm asked for something. Maybe it's just me, but I was brought up to be polite, and it really irks me when people don't say Please. Honestly, I've known five year old's with better manners!

And thus endeth my rant :)

:(

2008-07-08T20:02:07Z

My granddad - my Dad's Dad, the poorly one with Altzheimers who stopped eating properly around a month ago - has been admitted to hospital up in Darlington with a seizure. We have no idea what happened or what's going on. News is getting to Mum and I via Dad in the States so... we probably won't know anything for a little while. My Uncle Chris is on his way up to Darlington, but since he has a mobile that can't dial international numbers we won't have news for awhile since word has to come via the States.

Like I've said before, I just hope that whatever's for the best happens. I'm sure it's probably nothing...

*worries anyway*

This day is NOT going well.

Just a quickie...

2008-07-04T23:54:54Z

We have a glass display cabinet by the reception at work, filled with sterling silver jewellery from a local jeweller. It's some pretty nice stuff, and quite a lot of the women are easily distracted in an "Oooh... Shiny..." moths-to-a-flame kind of way!

Anyhow, today an elderly lady and her husband were sauntering through reception, and the woman honed in on the jewellery cabinet. One of the pieces is advertised as 'Musical' - and the husband asked me what song it played. So we got the keys out and took the necklace out; it's a large silver heart, and the 'music' is basically something within the heart pendant moving. You know those metallic stress balls that 'chime' as you roll them around your palm? It sounds like that, but slightly quieter.

So the woman looks delighted and says "Oooh that's very nice" and I tactfully agree with a "Yes, it's very pretty."

And the husband simply looks at his wife and says says...

"That sounds just like when your false teeth rattle."

I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my fucking life.

They call me hell...

2008-07-04T11:40:15Z

Yesterday was my day off, and after my shift that started at 7am I now have a new-found appreciation for lie-ins! I did a lot of odd jobs yesterday and was generally a lot happier than I've been in awhile; I think having a job is really helping me be more positive about things. So despite having the ear-drum-splitting horror that is Peter Andre's Insania in my head ALL BLOODY DAY (I'm not kidding), it was a good day.

I did a *bit* of a silly thing yesterday. My grandparents and my Auntie Barbara sent me some money as a congratulations for my exam results - and the cheques cleared yesterday. Now I'd promised myself a few Parish Register CDs as a well-deserved treat, so I ordered them. And I accidentally overspent by a little bit... but since my eBay money was due to clear as well, I wasn't too worried. Except today I've checked my account balance and realised that once again I have NO financial planning skills whatsoever. *sigh* All I can say is I really, really hope my deposit from the house in Aber comes back soon, since I don't get paid till the end of the month! Thankfully Mum's going to fund graduation, and hopefully in a few months I can pay back some of the money I've leeched off her.

But on the plus side, I've got lots to do in my free-time, and I know I'll definitely get my moneys worth out of these CDs. Anyone who's met me for more than five minutes knows how obsessive I get about genealogy and how much bloody time I spend on it... so screw it, I know they're a good investment and will have lots of useful info - I just could have timed the purchase a little better!

I'm already looking forward to pay day - July 25th, I think. £150 is going to Mum as rent and a little bit of the money I owe her... I'm going to buy that bookcase and desk chair I've wanted for ages from Argos. Also, DEFINITELY going to buy some new glasses - I've needed some for over two years now, but have just been making do with my old prescription which I know is very naughty. So I'll definitely be shimmying down to Specsavers after pay day :)

Aside from that I'm going to try and be good, and just not spend too much, as a good chunk of my wages needs to be saved for Leeds Fest - I've got to buy a tent, food, much beer, possibly a few new clothes and accessories... It'll be worth it though :) Ooooh and I just remember that Ciao still owes me £30. I reeeeeally hope that clears this month! And if that money from the tax office happened to come through ahead of the 6-8 weeks they told me... it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

ETA: I totally forgot to blog about this earlier... I had a really disturbing dream last night. We used to have this photo of my Nanna (the one who died before I was born) in the lounge of our house, before Dad moved out (it was his Mum). It was a black and white photo, and she's staring soberly into the camera - I later found out it was her passport photo, hence the expression. For various reasons (such as last March) I've always believed she watches over me and keeps an eye on me - whether you believe that or not, I do.

Anyhow, in the dream I was with the photograph, and Nanna (in the photo) was talking (Harry Potter-like!), but I couldn't hear what she was saying, she was just mouthing the words. And she was really, really worked up about something. I kept asking if she wanted me to make up with Dad, if that was what had upset her so much - and she kept shaking her head vehemently and mouthing "No". It was something else, something she was trying so desperately to tell me, but I just couldn't understand what.

I was pretty freaked out when I woke this morning. It was a really creepy dream... Dreaming about someone you've never met is pretty weird, and something about that dream really gives me the shivers - I can't describe the expression, the utter desperation in her eyes as she was trying to tell me what was wrong, the frustration that I couldn't understand. There was something I had to know, and I woke up not knowing, and now I just can't shake the feeling that something's not right.

I know it was just a dream, but it's definitely a 9.0 on my creepometer.

Anyhoo, suppose I should go and start getting ready for work. I'll leave you with a joke so bad it puts Tris's to shame:

What time does Sean Connery go to Wimbledon?

Tennish.

Workin' 9 to 5!

2008-07-01T09:23:16Z

Well I'm back in Sunny Yorkshire!

The big news first - I'm now gainfully employed, yes sirree! On Friday morning I caught the coach to Worcester, struggling through a particularly vicious hangover (I fully blame Sonia for plying me with Carling at Sean's movie night!) when my phone rang. Thankfully (since I didn't recognise the number) I answered it like a coherent, employable-sounding human being, and totally unexpectedly it was the guy who'd interviewed me last week, asking me to start on Monday. Since I was away for the weekend, we agreed on Tuesday.

You'll all be pleased to know I did make an arse out of myself, though, by (after discussing when I'd start, etc) blurting out at the end of the conversation "So I've got the job then?"

Anyway yes, I'm starting today. I'm more than a little nervous - I always am when starting a new job, hell when I started my waitressing one I took a menu home from the restaurant and memorised it! But hopefully it should go well. I do have one concern - I realised after accepting the job that I haven't mentioned that I'll need time off for my graduation in a few weeks time, not to mention Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Bank Holiday weekend (which I'm just sure they're going to love) so I can head to Leeds Fest. To be entirely fair, though, they never once asked about any holidays booked or anything like that during the interview, and when he rang I was so taken aback by being offered the job that it totally slipped my mind. So... I guess I'll just mention it today when we're discussing my schedule and hope it'll be okay. If it's not... well fuck 'em. But hopefully it'll be reet (as we say Oop Narf) because I desperately need this job.

It's weird thinking this is my first Real Job. This isn't a job I'm going to leave in September. I don't get to run back to Uni this time. I've got mixed feelings about it - I'm happy, but also a little... wishing I was doing something more exciting, I think. I'm definitely going to seriously consider going back and doing an MSc in 2009, or at worst a PGCE. I feel like I have too many options now I've gotten a 2:1, which is crazy but true.

Also about the job: the shift patterns may kill me. You know how some people are bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, "The sun has got his hat on" type people first thing in the morning? Well I am decidedly not. I am a bleary-eyed mess who limits speech to one-syllable words and grunting until at least five minutes post-coffee. And I will sometimes be starting work at 7am. That means getting up at 6am at the very latest. Six in the morning, dear God. I'll either be working 7am-3pm, or 3pm-11pm. I'm already wearing a black armband and mourning the loss of my freaking social life!

Must keep thinking about the much-needed money. Incidentally I've already mentally spent my first months' wages on a bookshelf, desk chair, a kimono-style dressing gown and family tree supplies. That's the one thing I'm really looking forward to, having money for genealogy again! I'm already being naughty - of the £120 I've been given as congratulations recently, £60 of that is going on a heap of CDs with transcribed parish registers from Cambridgeshire on. Naughty, but I can't help myself - if I have to work hard, I'm damn well going to play hard!

Anyhow yes, employment, that's my Big News! Aside from that, went to Worcester this weekend to visit Kyle. It was awesome - basically the perfect end to a bloody great week! And it was so sweet - his Mum got me a congratulations card, as did his Mum's best friend! That was nice of them. And I'm already missing him again though, am seriously hating this long distance malarkey! Really, really can't wait until we can afford to think about living together.

Right, must get up and run some errands in town because I have WORK at 3!!!!! Wish me luck :)

YAY

2008-06-29T21:49:32Z

Just a very very quick update cos I'm at Kyle's but guess what? I totally got the receptionist job at the hotel. I start on Tuesday!

Anyway off to kick Kyle's ass on the Wii now and enjoy my last evening in Worcester. So not wanting to go home!

Will post more tomorrow when I'm back in Leeds-land!