Well! The past couple of weeks have been terribly - for want of a better word - mixed. There have been laughs and tears, amusements and annoyances, surprises and predictabilities, joys and distresses, comforts and discomforts.
We've lived through the distress and grief of trying (and failing) to aid a young cat that had been struck by a car. The side-splitting hilarity of Bingo's usually fastidiously clean brother Paddy lying full length in a mud filled puddle and the lovely sight on another briskly cool winter evening of Bingo himself somersaulting into a pile of dead leaves, running round in a dementedly delighted circle and then doing it again. The tearful anger and unhappiness during and in the aftermath of an explosive row between mother and daughter (thankfully resolved in a matter of forty-eight hours, but still incredibly horrid; possibly due to the fact that it is rare enough to be unheard of). The deep irritation of 'Health n' Safety Gone Mad' at The Store which is making everybody's working lives difficult (particularly ours) and the annoyed but (mostly) passive resignation caused by inconvenient but unavoidable shift changes. The rueful but unsurprised observation of what the stress of 'The Season' does to probably otherwise polite and pleasant people; turning them into angry and impatient beasts fully prepared to throw down anyone that gets in their way. The rising pleasure of the sights, smells and sounds of Christmas; of having the scents of pine and bread and mince-pies and cakes and vanilla and coffee dancing playfully together in the nose, and the clamour and clangs of Christmassy sounds ringing in the ears, with the added bonus of walking through the town and being surrounded by glorious decoration by day and twinkling lights by night. The unbridled joy of seeing loved ones again for the first time in years. The worry and unpleasantness caused by various illnesses afflicting various people one after the other. The utterly brilliant experience of participating in a Christmas Gala (the highlight of which was the conductor involving every last man woman and child in a rousing rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas, with a room crammed with people enthusiastically leaping from their seats at the required time and singing their - mostly out of tune - hearts out); so awesome and overwhelmingly fun and emotive that the feeling it created seems set to carry on for days to come. The embarrassed dismay of one's trousers splitting (luckily, while on the way home). The jolt (unluckily, on the way to work rather than on the way home) of slipping on ice and landing into a puddle, leading to a painful limp and the nuisance of a damp backside. The gloriously enlivening sensation of frost sparkling beneath the feet and freezing air biting at the back of the throat. The nice surprise of being given one's first ever 'Snickerdoodle' to try (it was delicious) and the interest of finally learning what Americans actually mean when they say 'soda' (fizzy pop). The small but potent luxury of slipping on a well loved winter coat after having it dry-cleaned. The child-like thrill of planning a shopping list based solely on things one really really likes rather than needs...
A mixed fortnight indeed, and while quite awful at times, just the tonic I needed to remind me how great it is to be alive.
Thanks, God. The best Christmas present You could have given to me.
Now, roll on 25th December! I wants me some Hovis crackers and chocolate spread!
In gratitude,
Alice xxx
Sunday, 22 December 2013
Friday, 13 December 2013
Yay For Today!
Today so far has been good.
In fact, better than good; today so far has been great. Fantabulous. Good-Egg. Spiffing. Etc.
First off, we had a visit from Area Manager. She was interviewing prospective candidates along with Supervisor for the vacancy of Fourth Cleaning Person (the one that has, discounting the three ill-fated weeks we had Jon, been open since poor Colleague 1 was driven to leave, which was... =counts= ...Oh God, nearly a year ago! Has it really been that long?). Out of the six, two were good, two were OK, one was not OK and one didn't show up (no idea why). The post should be filled, Area Manager is confident, by the New Year.
That, of course, is great, because although we are coping with three people, it is a struggle that, during times of holiday or sickness (which of course leaves two), becomes impossible. But better was to come. Not only had Area Manager arrived bearing a nice big tub of chocolate - and Cadbury's, at that - and a card thanking us all for "all of our hard work", but when I popped into The Store Cafe at the end of my shift to bid the two of them adieu she asked me to wait a moment because she had something to tell me. The something turned out to be that she, Colleague and Store Manager had had a meeting to discuss whether he (Store Manager) was satisfied with how everything was going and that not only was he satisfied, but he was thrilled. He said that our work was "outstanding" and that he had no complaints whatsoever; that he was perfectly happy to leave us to it because the results spoke for themselves. Area Manager then said that she was thrilled too; we had all "been absolutely brilliant" and an "A-Class Cleaning Unit". With the addition at last of the elusive Fourth Cleaning Person so that we had the number of people we needed would merely make things easier for us; she didn't believe that it could GET any better than this! How brilliant was that? It was so good to hear; to know that our efforts are really making a difference, even when it doesn't feel that they are. I left with a belly full of chocolate and a heart full of happiness. A good combination.
Thirdly, everybody I've encountered today has been polite, smiley and considerate of those around them (human and animal). ALL of them. I even got a few cheery "Merry Christmas!"s from a few complete strangers. It was wonderful.
Fourthly - and I am sure, entirely due to how I was feeling after things one, two and three - when I got home I was so energized that I vacuumed the house and then popped a wash in to be doing while I mopped the kitchen; and all of this before I had had a sit down and even any caffeine! Go me.
And finally and fifthly; Bingo and I had a nice twenty minutes listening to music and playing vigorously with some of his toys (Duck and Panda only; for some reason Piggy seems to be out of favour) before lunch, and now he is sat on the sofa next to me with his rump pushed up comfortably against my hip and his head leaning on the arm rest. Nice. Cozy.
Anyhoo; that's my day so far. It's only just half way through, so hopefully it will continue as it has begun.
D'you think it will?
Toodles!
Alice xxx
In fact, better than good; today so far has been great. Fantabulous. Good-Egg. Spiffing. Etc.
First off, we had a visit from Area Manager. She was interviewing prospective candidates along with Supervisor for the vacancy of Fourth Cleaning Person (the one that has, discounting the three ill-fated weeks we had Jon, been open since poor Colleague 1 was driven to leave, which was... =counts= ...Oh God, nearly a year ago! Has it really been that long?). Out of the six, two were good, two were OK, one was not OK and one didn't show up (no idea why). The post should be filled, Area Manager is confident, by the New Year.
That, of course, is great, because although we are coping with three people, it is a struggle that, during times of holiday or sickness (which of course leaves two), becomes impossible. But better was to come. Not only had Area Manager arrived bearing a nice big tub of chocolate - and Cadbury's, at that - and a card thanking us all for "all of our hard work", but when I popped into The Store Cafe at the end of my shift to bid the two of them adieu she asked me to wait a moment because she had something to tell me. The something turned out to be that she, Colleague and Store Manager had had a meeting to discuss whether he (Store Manager) was satisfied with how everything was going and that not only was he satisfied, but he was thrilled. He said that our work was "outstanding" and that he had no complaints whatsoever; that he was perfectly happy to leave us to it because the results spoke for themselves. Area Manager then said that she was thrilled too; we had all "been absolutely brilliant" and an "A-Class Cleaning Unit". With the addition at last of the elusive Fourth Cleaning Person so that we had the number of people we needed would merely make things easier for us; she didn't believe that it could GET any better than this! How brilliant was that? It was so good to hear; to know that our efforts are really making a difference, even when it doesn't feel that they are. I left with a belly full of chocolate and a heart full of happiness. A good combination.
Thirdly, everybody I've encountered today has been polite, smiley and considerate of those around them (human and animal). ALL of them. I even got a few cheery "Merry Christmas!"s from a few complete strangers. It was wonderful.
Fourthly - and I am sure, entirely due to how I was feeling after things one, two and three - when I got home I was so energized that I vacuumed the house and then popped a wash in to be doing while I mopped the kitchen; and all of this before I had had a sit down and even any caffeine! Go me.
And finally and fifthly; Bingo and I had a nice twenty minutes listening to music and playing vigorously with some of his toys (Duck and Panda only; for some reason Piggy seems to be out of favour) before lunch, and now he is sat on the sofa next to me with his rump pushed up comfortably against my hip and his head leaning on the arm rest. Nice. Cozy.
Anyhoo; that's my day so far. It's only just half way through, so hopefully it will continue as it has begun.
D'you think it will?
Toodles!
Alice xxx
Friday, 6 December 2013
A Note To All Cold Callers:
Dear Cold Callers Calling From Various Organisations & For Varying Reasons:
Please, for the love of God, STOP PHONING US! We are never going to buy/sign up for/discuss whatever it is you are aiming to sell/promote/research, so it would be easier on all involved if you would all just bugger off and leave us the Hell alone.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Alice.
Seriously; this is beyond a joke now.
Unlike other (lucky) people, I do not have the option of leaving the telephone whenever it rings and letting the answer-machine pick up the slack. Due to my mother's line of work, if it rings and we are in, we HAVE to pick up the phone; just in case. So unlike other (lucky) people, rather than being inconvenienced every now and again, both my mother and I are inconvenienced several times a day.
I used to feel bad about telling the people on the other end of the phone - as politely as possible - that we weren't interested and hanging up. No longer. After two years of this, with calls increasing in frequency over that time, I am no longer simply fed up; I am incredibly pissed off. I am aware that the person talking to me is not directly at fault (everybody needs to earn a living somehow) and because of this I still try to keep my tone as polite as possible but after politely and firmly saying my piece (usually either "sorry but we don't conduct surveys over the phone. I'm going to hang up now, bye" or "sorry, but we never purchase or order anything over the phone. I'm going to hang up now, bye") I hang up; often while the poor woman/man is still speaking.
How do these companies make any money from this?? They must do, otherwise the business of cold calling would no longer exist (apart from the hawking done on behalf of various 'charities', for instance, the business of calling from door to door to sell varying wares is all but gone), but I'm damned if I know how or why it happens. Nobody that I know appreciates receiving unsolicited phone-calls; nor has anyone I know ever been convinced into buying or signing up for anything.
... =sighs= ...
Sorry. I've had a bad week and three such calls in the past two hours. I'm feeling more than a little cranky right now and it was either scream at the latest lost soul that had the misfortune to ring me at that second (from the sounds of it, with the aim of talking me into agreeing to pay for a computer screening service) or rant on here.
I chose the latter.
Got to go. My mini shift at SENSE awaits.
Alice x
Please, for the love of God, STOP PHONING US! We are never going to buy/sign up for/discuss whatever it is you are aiming to sell/promote/research, so it would be easier on all involved if you would all just bugger off and leave us the Hell alone.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Alice.
Seriously; this is beyond a joke now.
Unlike other (lucky) people, I do not have the option of leaving the telephone whenever it rings and letting the answer-machine pick up the slack. Due to my mother's line of work, if it rings and we are in, we HAVE to pick up the phone; just in case. So unlike other (lucky) people, rather than being inconvenienced every now and again, both my mother and I are inconvenienced several times a day.
I used to feel bad about telling the people on the other end of the phone - as politely as possible - that we weren't interested and hanging up. No longer. After two years of this, with calls increasing in frequency over that time, I am no longer simply fed up; I am incredibly pissed off. I am aware that the person talking to me is not directly at fault (everybody needs to earn a living somehow) and because of this I still try to keep my tone as polite as possible but after politely and firmly saying my piece (usually either "sorry but we don't conduct surveys over the phone. I'm going to hang up now, bye" or "sorry, but we never purchase or order anything over the phone. I'm going to hang up now, bye") I hang up; often while the poor woman/man is still speaking.
How do these companies make any money from this?? They must do, otherwise the business of cold calling would no longer exist (apart from the hawking done on behalf of various 'charities', for instance, the business of calling from door to door to sell varying wares is all but gone), but I'm damned if I know how or why it happens. Nobody that I know appreciates receiving unsolicited phone-calls; nor has anyone I know ever been convinced into buying or signing up for anything.
... =sighs= ...
Sorry. I've had a bad week and three such calls in the past two hours. I'm feeling more than a little cranky right now and it was either scream at the latest lost soul that had the misfortune to ring me at that second (from the sounds of it, with the aim of talking me into agreeing to pay for a computer screening service) or rant on here.
I chose the latter.
Got to go. My mini shift at SENSE awaits.
Alice x
Sunday, 1 December 2013
Ah, Crap.
Just braved the scales and weighed myself.
My optimum weight (i.e. the weight at which my body feels happiest) is between 15 and 16 stone, with my ideal size being between an 18 and a 20*.
What I actually weigh NOW is 18.5 stone, and my size is an average of 22.
Not good. Not good at all.
Action is called for.
Alice x
* I know what you will be thinking; that at this weight and size I would still be fat. I don't dispute it. I would be; very fat, in fact, but I don't care. My body liked it and I was a lot healthier and fitter then than I had ever been (including the years that I was smaller) before or since.
More to the point, however; I was happy. And that's what I need to be aiming for.
My optimum weight (i.e. the weight at which my body feels happiest) is between 15 and 16 stone, with my ideal size being between an 18 and a 20*.
What I actually weigh NOW is 18.5 stone, and my size is an average of 22.
Not good. Not good at all.
Action is called for.
Alice x
* I know what you will be thinking; that at this weight and size I would still be fat. I don't dispute it. I would be; very fat, in fact, but I don't care. My body liked it and I was a lot healthier and fitter then than I had ever been (including the years that I was smaller) before or since.
More to the point, however; I was happy. And that's what I need to be aiming for.
Yesterday Evening The Kidderminster Choral Society Gave A Concert...
...and it was a triumph; an absolute triumph. The performance was absolutely splendid, the music sublime (how could the compositions of Schubert and Mozart be anything but?) and the reactions of the audience a healthy mixture of joy and undisguised awe.
Personally I give my own performance a rating of seven out of ten. I tried my best of course (and perhaps more importantly I got up on the stage and actually went through with it, despite my gut screaming at me to do the contrary), which counts for a lot. But while I was quite pleased with my singing overall, I made several silly mistakes. And to make it worse whilst in the middle of two complicated sections in two separate movements, I sneezed.
So seven out of ten. But that's not bad, is it? On the whole, as I said, I was quite pleased with myself and ended the night, in-spite of aching limbs and a mind so tired it could barely function, feeling utterly jubilant; exhilarated and overwhelmed and very privileged at having had the chance to play a part - a small part but a part nonetheless - in something so unbelievably wonderful. Being a member of a choir is a splendid thing, indeed.
On a practical note, however, two things became apparent.
Thing One.
I need a better pair of boots/shoes, By the end of the show, despite brief periods of respite as we sat during solos, the soles of my feet were throbbing fiercely. For concerts, my regular every-day black boots are less than useless. Footwear specially designed to aid people having to stand still for long periods of time is required, and by golly; I shall have it.
Thing Two.
To aid in thing one and for reasons of space, I really, really need to lose some weight. Seriously.
...Anyway, more on everything later.
Alice. x
Personally I give my own performance a rating of seven out of ten. I tried my best of course (and perhaps more importantly I got up on the stage and actually went through with it, despite my gut screaming at me to do the contrary), which counts for a lot. But while I was quite pleased with my singing overall, I made several silly mistakes. And to make it worse whilst in the middle of two complicated sections in two separate movements, I sneezed.
So seven out of ten. But that's not bad, is it? On the whole, as I said, I was quite pleased with myself and ended the night, in-spite of aching limbs and a mind so tired it could barely function, feeling utterly jubilant; exhilarated and overwhelmed and very privileged at having had the chance to play a part - a small part but a part nonetheless - in something so unbelievably wonderful. Being a member of a choir is a splendid thing, indeed.
On a practical note, however, two things became apparent.
Thing One.
I need a better pair of boots/shoes, By the end of the show, despite brief periods of respite as we sat during solos, the soles of my feet were throbbing fiercely. For concerts, my regular every-day black boots are less than useless. Footwear specially designed to aid people having to stand still for long periods of time is required, and by golly; I shall have it.
Thing Two.
To aid in thing one and for reasons of space, I really, really need to lose some weight. Seriously.
...Anyway, more on everything later.
Alice. x
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