WITCHES:
We sang a few new operatic choruses in rehearsal this week (Thursday, that was) that are to be included in the concert in November.
One of them was The Witches Of Macbeth, during which for the first time in my life - or at least the first time to my knowledge - I sang out alongside the other 2ndSopranos in a suitably grating and cackly voice that "I cut the boar's throat" and "we cursed a sailors wife, a-grieved she will be".
Needless to say, we gave it all we'd got.
You have to, with words like that, haven't you?
WEE-WEE:
A couple of days ago in the garden while Bingo faffed around as he always did to avoid doing what he knew he'd come out there for, I got fed up and yelled up to him that I was freezing and damp and if he didn't get a move on I would feed the treat waiting in the kitchen for him to the cat.
"NO WEE-WEE, NO SAUSAGE," I bellowed, crossly; "I MEAN IT!"
Upon hearing this threat, Bingo pulled his socks up and immediately set about doing the necessary, and I felt triumphantly satisfied..... until I happened to glance across to the right and saw my next door neighbour stood at his open door, staring at me with wide and frightened eyes.
..... oh. .....
There was only one thing to do, so I did it. I beamed a big friendly smile, bid him good day, told Bingo he was a good boy and sailed back into the house with my head held high to hand over the promised sausage.
=SIGH=
WORMHOLES:
Last night - in the midst of a complicated and terribly exciting magical plot involving the cast of the TV show Friends - I dreamt that I while I was running I was suddenly sucked into an underwater wormhole and pulled apart into millions and millions of little pieces of sparkling energy, blown about all over the universe and allowed to float above many interesting looking scenes before being sucked back rapidly down and down and down and in and in and in until I had been forcibly squeezed and shaped into myself again, upon which I continued running as though none of the above had happened.
.....no. I don't know why, either.
It was interesting though.
Alice x
Sunday, 26 October 2014
Thursday, 23 October 2014
This Week Hasn't Been Great.
We received a newsletter (.....is that supposed to be all one word?.....) from the company that our old company has been merged with, and amongst the usual observations of good/bad and little supposedly uplifting titbits regarding things going on within the company, the ominous phrase of "upcoming changes to streamline the service into a state of lean cleaning practices" had been nonchelauntly slipped in.
Now, to explain this to those not familiar with modern managerial jargon, that is Yuppie Speak for "we are going to mess around with the hours of low level staff".
Worried, Supervisor rang Area Manager and left a message, and today she finally rang back. There ARE going to be "changes", she admits, but she has no idea what these changes will be. There has been talk of bringing back the afternoon shift and moving one member of morning staff onto it. There has also been talk of possibly cutting back "where applicable". But the bottom line is, she doesn't know - or says she doesn't - for certain.
There are meetings going on, apparently, for the next week or so to decide what if any alterations are going to be put in effect.
Until then, we are just going to have to sit tight and wait.
I received this news today.
A few days ago I received news that the headteacher of the school my mother spends 99% of her time at is leaving and is likely to be replaced by the current deputy headteacher; a woman that nobody at the school likes and who has made it clear on more than one occasion that she in turn doesn't rate anybody else there either, my mother included.
This means that once she takes over - if she does - at the beginning of the Spring Term, the regular bookings the school provides will possibly, probably even, dwindle. If indeed they don't stop altogther.
Mother is an absolutely superb teacher, and very popular; on that score her reputation is assured. But due to one school monopolizing her time to the point where nobody else can get a look in, the majority of the other schools she used to attend - all but one, actually - have stopped phoning. And who can blame them? Every time they rang, no matter how far in advance, her calender was booked, and always at this one school; it is hardly surprising that she is no longer top of their list. Or even on the list.
So! To sum up: my work is under threat of losing hours and mother's work is under threat of stopping altogether.
.....damn, blast and buggeration.
Alice x
Now, to explain this to those not familiar with modern managerial jargon, that is Yuppie Speak for "we are going to mess around with the hours of low level staff".
Worried, Supervisor rang Area Manager and left a message, and today she finally rang back. There ARE going to be "changes", she admits, but she has no idea what these changes will be. There has been talk of bringing back the afternoon shift and moving one member of morning staff onto it. There has also been talk of possibly cutting back "where applicable". But the bottom line is, she doesn't know - or says she doesn't - for certain.
There are meetings going on, apparently, for the next week or so to decide what if any alterations are going to be put in effect.
Until then, we are just going to have to sit tight and wait.
I received this news today.
A few days ago I received news that the headteacher of the school my mother spends 99% of her time at is leaving and is likely to be replaced by the current deputy headteacher; a woman that nobody at the school likes and who has made it clear on more than one occasion that she in turn doesn't rate anybody else there either, my mother included.
This means that once she takes over - if she does - at the beginning of the Spring Term, the regular bookings the school provides will possibly, probably even, dwindle. If indeed they don't stop altogther.
Mother is an absolutely superb teacher, and very popular; on that score her reputation is assured. But due to one school monopolizing her time to the point where nobody else can get a look in, the majority of the other schools she used to attend - all but one, actually - have stopped phoning. And who can blame them? Every time they rang, no matter how far in advance, her calender was booked, and always at this one school; it is hardly surprising that she is no longer top of their list. Or even on the list.
So! To sum up: my work is under threat of losing hours and mother's work is under threat of stopping altogether.
.....damn, blast and buggeration.
Alice x
Sunday, 19 October 2014
I am 30 Years and 7 Days Old Today;
"How does it feel to be 30?" I hear you ask.
Well, not all that different, I reply. And due to the way my mind works, I believe it will probably remain that way, no matter how old I get. Be I twenty, thirty, forty, ninety; I will still feel between six and ten years of age inside, depending on the day.
"Did you get any nice presents/cards/Etc?" I hear you ask.
Yes indeedy, I did, I reply. I received a plethora of particularly beautiful cards with particularly nice messages inside, a long chained necklace with a colourful metal toucan shaped pendant - I have named him Jean-Claude - a delectable miniature wooden music box that plays "Waltz of the Flowers" when wound up, an owl keyring (it is well established that I have a thing about owls. When in doubt, family and friends know, go for an owl) that I have attached to my long suffering shoulder bag, a dear little doggy notebook (including a collapsible pen) and money. LOTS of money. Enough money that I have not only had a meal out at pizza hut (yes, again) and a visit to the SeaLife Centre (there were penguins!), but I also treated myself to a strong shopping bag worth of second hand books and this morning have had a merry time ordering fun-but-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things-unnecessary things on Amazon that should be arriving within the next couple of weeks.
AND THERE IS CHANGE! Only about 3p, but still.
Loved and spoilt am I...
...Speaking of being loved; I have three very dear and close friends that I love very much. And they love me very much in return, I know they do. But...I'll be damned that not-a-one of them remembered my birthday this year.
That's right. None of them.
=shakes head ruefully=
See, this is what happens when life won't leave you alone enough to think; everything that isn't immediately urgent and in your face goes to the wall.
"Aren't you all hurt and miffed that they forgot??" I hear you gasp.
Meh, I reply; not particularly. I was/am amused more than anything. Much grovelling has ensued from Best Friends 1 & 3 and I anticipate some more when Best Friend 2 finds out as well (which she will when she reads this). But no, I'm not hurt at all. It's just one of those things. The process of living Everyday Life takes over and sometimes things, even things involving people you really really care about, slip into the background and blend in so well with the surroundings that they are missed.
...Anyway, everyone that has ever been in my company for more than a few minutes knows that I can't claim any sort of moral high ground on this subject, at all. Dates are one of the things I am irredeemably hopeless with (another being directions). I'm not sure why, but my (admittedly emotively chaotic mess of a) brain just doesn't seem to be wired to cope with them properly; I get them mixed up and muddled and as as a result complications with varying consequences ensue. I get the month right (.....well, generally. ......well, sometimes), but somehow the day ends up meandering around in a daze not knowing where to land, or in many cases simply wanders off in a daze to be forgotten about all together, leading to an awkward conversation that starts along the lines of "...your birthday: I know it is in June, but...?"
And as to simply letting the date slip by completely unnoticed, well, I have done that too, to each of my friends at one time or another. Best Friend 2's had come and gone by over a month this year before a little panicked light bulb blinked on and yelped "WHOOPS!" (though in my defence; dad had passed away only a few weeks before and everything was a bit of a blur).
So I don't mind, not a bit. It's just that this is the first time that all three have forgotten at the same time, is all.
=grins=
Still. T'was a fun birthday, so t'was.
I am a lucky, lucky girl indeed.
Alice x
Well, not all that different, I reply. And due to the way my mind works, I believe it will probably remain that way, no matter how old I get. Be I twenty, thirty, forty, ninety; I will still feel between six and ten years of age inside, depending on the day.
"Did you get any nice presents/cards/Etc?" I hear you ask.
Yes indeedy, I did, I reply. I received a plethora of particularly beautiful cards with particularly nice messages inside, a long chained necklace with a colourful metal toucan shaped pendant - I have named him Jean-Claude - a delectable miniature wooden music box that plays "Waltz of the Flowers" when wound up, an owl keyring (it is well established that I have a thing about owls. When in doubt, family and friends know, go for an owl) that I have attached to my long suffering shoulder bag, a dear little doggy notebook (including a collapsible pen) and money. LOTS of money. Enough money that I have not only had a meal out at pizza hut (yes, again) and a visit to the SeaLife Centre (there were penguins!), but I also treated myself to a strong shopping bag worth of second hand books and this morning have had a merry time ordering fun-but-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things-unnecessary things on Amazon that should be arriving within the next couple of weeks.
AND THERE IS CHANGE! Only about 3p, but still.
Loved and spoilt am I...
...Speaking of being loved; I have three very dear and close friends that I love very much. And they love me very much in return, I know they do. But...I'll be damned that not-a-one of them remembered my birthday this year.
That's right. None of them.
=shakes head ruefully=
See, this is what happens when life won't leave you alone enough to think; everything that isn't immediately urgent and in your face goes to the wall.
"Aren't you all hurt and miffed that they forgot??" I hear you gasp.
Meh, I reply; not particularly. I was/am amused more than anything. Much grovelling has ensued from Best Friends 1 & 3 and I anticipate some more when Best Friend 2 finds out as well (which she will when she reads this). But no, I'm not hurt at all. It's just one of those things. The process of living Everyday Life takes over and sometimes things, even things involving people you really really care about, slip into the background and blend in so well with the surroundings that they are missed.
...Anyway, everyone that has ever been in my company for more than a few minutes knows that I can't claim any sort of moral high ground on this subject, at all. Dates are one of the things I am irredeemably hopeless with (another being directions). I'm not sure why, but my (admittedly emotively chaotic mess of a) brain just doesn't seem to be wired to cope with them properly; I get them mixed up and muddled and as as a result complications with varying consequences ensue. I get the month right (.....well, generally. ......well, sometimes), but somehow the day ends up meandering around in a daze not knowing where to land, or in many cases simply wanders off in a daze to be forgotten about all together, leading to an awkward conversation that starts along the lines of "...your birthday: I know it is in June, but...?"
And as to simply letting the date slip by completely unnoticed, well, I have done that too, to each of my friends at one time or another. Best Friend 2's had come and gone by over a month this year before a little panicked light bulb blinked on and yelped "WHOOPS!" (though in my defence; dad had passed away only a few weeks before and everything was a bit of a blur).
So I don't mind, not a bit. It's just that this is the first time that all three have forgotten at the same time, is all.
=grins=
Still. T'was a fun birthday, so t'was.
I am a lucky, lucky girl indeed.
Alice x
Friday, 17 October 2014
Please Forgive Any Mistakes: I Am Not Used To This Keyboard And Also Rather Drunk...
Today has been One Of Those Days.
To start: I had a bad nights sleep.
No clue why.
THEN: due to people being off sick, my shift was incredibly hard and left me exhausted, filthy and drenched with sweat. Added to that; it was one of those days when no headway could be made no matter how hard you tried.
THEN: I wasn't able to vacuum the living room because the decorator had just finished and all the skirting boards were tacky, and not being able to vacuum always sets my teeth on edge.
(no insulrt intended toward you, Martin Meese: you are utterly brilliant and rock immensely).
THEN: I wasn't able to have the nap I tend to have to counteract difficult shifts because I was due at SENSE for 3-PM.
THEN: while at SENSE an incredibly difficult and moany customer came in and I had to deal with her for the best part of 40 minutes.
(for the most part that is. When things began to really descend into sucky choas, I admit I passed the buck and passed her off to make her utterly stupid and unreasonable demands to the Manager. But even then I still had to deal with her at the same time).
(and although this does not in any degree reduce her suckiness, she DID purchase £68.43 worth of stuff, which in a charity shop isa pretty immense achievement).
THEN: we found out that The Grandmama and Aunt2 had had an argument over The Grandmama's habit of allowing herself to dry slowly post shower rather than rub herself dry vigorously and quickly with a towel.
Said row has left Aunt2 cross and The Grandmama miserable.
.....and me (impotently) furious.
THEN: upon returning home from walking Bingo, our Next Door Neighbour On The Right latched onto us anxiously. Toby - an eight month old and adorable, if slightly hyperactive, Westie puppy - had run away in a fit of excitement and disappeared into the dark.
.....20 minutes of frantic searching later he was discovered hiding in an impossibly small space in a thicket, frightened and subdued but otherwise unharmed. But it left us frazelled.
.....and to add; I pity the poor bloke if he is ever forced to confess to his girlfriend - Toby's 'mommy' - what he carelessly very nearly allowed to happen to her beloved baby..... =shudders=
THEN: mother got into an altication with the till assistant working in our local Tesco Garage after a misparking incident (during which no innocent onlookers or petrol pumps were harmed) caused our petrol pumping session to 'time out', which left her paying a £2.40 bill for 1 and a half litres worth of petrol and storming off.l
It took her 15 minutes to calm down (mother that is, not the till assistant) after that.
(.....and that was with 'relaxing' breathing exercises).
THEN: our deceptively tiny shop (admiteddly comprised of expensive-ish things. Including the drink I have just gratefully consumed) came to £40.23.
.....and that was WITH two money saving coupons.
.....mother went pale. Our usual 'huge and expensive' shop (which includes really pricey things such as butter and washing tablets) generally comes to no more than £55. We had a basket worth of items.
.....ouch.
THEN: we found that our Morcambe and Wise Christmas Special DVDs will not work in our semi-broken television set.
Which is why I am up here now watching QI with my homemade Cherry V's and mother is downstairs with her homemade Cherry V's watching whatever it is she fancied putting on.
So! That was my Friday.
.....Today has been One Of Those Days.....
Alice x
To start: I had a bad nights sleep.
No clue why.
THEN: due to people being off sick, my shift was incredibly hard and left me exhausted, filthy and drenched with sweat. Added to that; it was one of those days when no headway could be made no matter how hard you tried.
THEN: I wasn't able to vacuum the living room because the decorator had just finished and all the skirting boards were tacky, and not being able to vacuum always sets my teeth on edge.
(no insulrt intended toward you, Martin Meese: you are utterly brilliant and rock immensely).
THEN: I wasn't able to have the nap I tend to have to counteract difficult shifts because I was due at SENSE for 3-PM.
THEN: while at SENSE an incredibly difficult and moany customer came in and I had to deal with her for the best part of 40 minutes.
(for the most part that is. When things began to really descend into sucky choas, I admit I passed the buck and passed her off to make her utterly stupid and unreasonable demands to the Manager. But even then I still had to deal with her at the same time).
(and although this does not in any degree reduce her suckiness, she DID purchase £68.43 worth of stuff, which in a charity shop isa pretty immense achievement).
THEN: we found out that The Grandmama and Aunt2 had had an argument over The Grandmama's habit of allowing herself to dry slowly post shower rather than rub herself dry vigorously and quickly with a towel.
Said row has left Aunt2 cross and The Grandmama miserable.
.....and me (impotently) furious.
THEN: upon returning home from walking Bingo, our Next Door Neighbour On The Right latched onto us anxiously. Toby - an eight month old and adorable, if slightly hyperactive, Westie puppy - had run away in a fit of excitement and disappeared into the dark.
.....20 minutes of frantic searching later he was discovered hiding in an impossibly small space in a thicket, frightened and subdued but otherwise unharmed. But it left us frazelled.
.....and to add; I pity the poor bloke if he is ever forced to confess to his girlfriend - Toby's 'mommy' - what he carelessly very nearly allowed to happen to her beloved baby..... =shudders=
THEN: mother got into an altication with the till assistant working in our local Tesco Garage after a misparking incident (during which no innocent onlookers or petrol pumps were harmed) caused our petrol pumping session to 'time out', which left her paying a £2.40 bill for 1 and a half litres worth of petrol and storming off.l
It took her 15 minutes to calm down (mother that is, not the till assistant) after that.
(.....and that was with 'relaxing' breathing exercises).
THEN: our deceptively tiny shop (admiteddly comprised of expensive-ish things. Including the drink I have just gratefully consumed) came to £40.23.
.....and that was WITH two money saving coupons.
.....mother went pale. Our usual 'huge and expensive' shop (which includes really pricey things such as butter and washing tablets) generally comes to no more than £55. We had a basket worth of items.
.....ouch.
THEN: we found that our Morcambe and Wise Christmas Special DVDs will not work in our semi-broken television set.
Which is why I am up here now watching QI with my homemade Cherry V's and mother is downstairs with her homemade Cherry V's watching whatever it is she fancied putting on.
So! That was my Friday.
.....Today has been One Of Those Days.....
Alice x
Monday, 6 October 2014
Upon Picking Up A DVD Case To Take A Look At The Back -
- I unintentionally, somehow, managed to jolt the dog from the depths of his peaceful, happy slumbers into the world of the rudely awakened.
...Boy. If looks could kill...
Alice x
15 MINUTES LATER:
I just did it again! Picking up a glass!
...Look, it's not my fault, OK? For some unfathomable reason he appears to have become a light sleeper...
...Boy. If looks could kill...
Alice x
15 MINUTES LATER:
I just did it again! Picking up a glass!
...Look, it's not my fault, OK? For some unfathomable reason he appears to have become a light sleeper...
The Good, The Bad And The Good (Again)
THE GOOD:
I have experienced many fantastic wildlife sights over the past few weeks, including; a buzzard hunting pigeons, a close up of a dragonfly (they are so fascinating!), bats hawking for insects at dusk, a brief (very brief) glimpse of a shrew, two robins engaging in an impressive aerial battle and a group of angry moorhens seeing off a swan.
THE BAD:
My birthday is coming up.
This is the first birthday since dad's death. Birthdays and Christmas were the two times of year that contact always happened, no matter what. This time, however, there will be no card in the mail, no text on the mobile, no cheery email.
Nothing.
No dad.
...That is all.
THE GOOD (AGAIN):
A trip to the Sea Life centre and picnic for mother and me has been planned to celebrate my birthday. And also because it is my birthday, I am fairly confident that the day before that at our fortnightly Fish n' Chips n' Games Gala, The Grandpapa will allow me to postpone his turn and pick my favourite things to play.
This coming weekend will be very enjoyable indeed.
Alice x
I have experienced many fantastic wildlife sights over the past few weeks, including; a buzzard hunting pigeons, a close up of a dragonfly (they are so fascinating!), bats hawking for insects at dusk, a brief (very brief) glimpse of a shrew, two robins engaging in an impressive aerial battle and a group of angry moorhens seeing off a swan.
THE BAD:
My birthday is coming up.
This is the first birthday since dad's death. Birthdays and Christmas were the two times of year that contact always happened, no matter what. This time, however, there will be no card in the mail, no text on the mobile, no cheery email.
Nothing.
No dad.
...That is all.
THE GOOD (AGAIN):
A trip to the Sea Life centre and picnic for mother and me has been planned to celebrate my birthday. And also because it is my birthday, I am fairly confident that the day before that at our fortnightly Fish n' Chips n' Games Gala, The Grandpapa will allow me to postpone his turn and pick my favourite things to play.
This coming weekend will be very enjoyable indeed.
Alice x
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