* Last week's shift in the library went very well. I had two appointments and one 'walk-in' as it's called.
Client 1, wanted a quick tour of his iPad - which he had had for months and that the kids knew how to use, but he didn't - with the view of taking lessons.
Client 2. needed advice regarding an application letter and help navigating Microsoft Word, which she hadn't used in years and now looked completely different. I also had a quick rummage through her hard-drive and uninstalled several unnecessary or not working applications, which her daughter had unwittingly added or half removed during de-fragmentation (she had insisted to her mother that this absolutely HAD to be done to make her computer work because it was "ancient" - which was untrue - and then made a hash of it).
Client 3. just needed help printing out a receipt she had received via email.
...All three left happy.
* The Story has begun to be written again, slowly but surely. I typed about 5 pages at the library on Tuesday (I've decided that Tuesday afternoons, when I have no college, no work - voluntary or paid - and no other definite obligations to anything or anybody else would be a great time to just settle down at one of the computers in the corner, pop my headphones in to drown out the rest of the world, and get stuck in) and wrote up about 5 pages worth more in my notepad on Thursday while I waited for the train.
I'm having a great time with this one. It's developing, bit by bit; growing. The characters are emerging in more detail and blossoming into real, fully dimensional people, and in a way that is enhancing the plot, rather than mutating it.
* The Cat has been given a clean bill of health. The medicine we're having to squirt down her throat every evening - yeah, we all really LOVE that part of the day - and the specialized diet have both helped to build her strength back up. She is now as well and evil as ever.
* The Dog, on the other hand, is not so good...
Well. That's not quite true. Bingo is perfectly happy in himself, and mostly healthy, it's just... the infection he has in his bladder is refusing to shift. He's quite happy, but he isn't right. A sample has been sent off for further testing to try to find out why, and if that doesn't throw up any answers, he'll have to have an ultrasound.
But that isn't the main problem, of course. Since he has come of his chemotherapy tablets (which had caused the infection in the first place), the cancerous lump has begun to grow again - it's too soon to find out exactly how quickly - and unfortunately not only can he not start taking them again (once the infection sets in, that's it. No more. Ever) but it doesn't look like there is any other treatment he can take either.
The Vet is waiting to hear back from an expert in the field in the hope that he's wrong, but it's looking very unlikely. So, we're all a bit up in the air right now.
My mood on the subject is currently wavering between tearful despair, and relief that at least now I know the worst (or very likely I do) and now can just get on with things. I'm erring far more toward the latter, though. I'm don't know if that makes me needlessly pessimistic, or realistically practical. Mother is holding out hopes for Super Cancer Expert Sarah, but I'm not. I think that we've run out of options and that the only one left is to let nature take its course.
So, overall, I think, I feel relieved and - bizarrely? - optimistic.
* College seems to be plodding along well, I've borrowed a copy of the book I'm working through right now so that I can read it over again and make notes at my leisure, and Best Friend 0,5 (1) made the suggestion that I could have a look on Amazon for a second hand copy of it, so that it'll be mine, and I can read it and scribble on it whenever I want.
So I'll be looking into that, tomorrow.
* Another subject I'm wavering about, is my hair. It is now shoulder length, just about, and I'm not altogether certain that I like it. The internal conflict is currently ongoing.
And that's it.
That was my week. In a nutshell.
Don't you feel enriched, now you've read about it?
...Oh, shut up. You do so...
B.C.B.F.L.B x
Saturday, 28 January 2017
Happiness Is... No. 7:
Happiness is...
Doing a little dance of triumph, because the 'hyperlink' you've just inserted into your document actually works. (Yea!)
B.C.B.F.L.B x
Doing a little dance of triumph, because the 'hyperlink' you've just inserted into your document actually works. (Yea!)
B.C.B.F.L.B x
Sunday, 22 January 2017
I'm Here! =waves=
Yes, dear reader(s); I am still alive. I've just been really busy, is all, with family, and work, and my other work at the library, and getting ready for college, and then enrolling at college, and then finally starting my course on Wednesday... yeah. I have been running around (or, at least, waddling fairly quickly) like the proverbial chicken, minus its head.
Anyhoot. College went well, overall, after a slightly rocky start.
The books I am using took a little getting used to, you see, due to my tendency to both preempt and skim read, along with my utter determination to work it out myself, rather than ask for help (a hangup from my school days. I was fat and unpopular; the LAST thing one wanted was to draw extra attention). The three of these things, I was assured when I finally gave in and went to confess to the tutor - red faced and feeling like a complete failure - that I was stuck on instruction 2) on page 1., were totally normal and understandable, etc. etc.
People coming in who already have some knowledge - even a little bit of knowledge - of the subject they are trying to learn are apparently at a particular disadvantage due to the fact that their brain will grab hold onto the bits it already knows - such as: "set top left margin to 3cm"! Yes! I can do that! I know how to do that! - while merrily glossing over the other parts of the instruction - such as: "set top left margin to 3cm. First, select margins from page set up. The box will look like this (picture inserted). Change top left margin to 3cm. You will note that the numbers in the other boxes change automatically (this is to keep the margins set levelly). Change the top left margin back to its default (1.5cm) then Click OK. Now, go to the developer tab, and select margins and tabs. A box will appear. Check that free page is selected; if not, select, then click OK, then OK again. Then select margins again from page set up. You will notice that the box looks like this (picture inserted). Check the free style box. Then set top left margin - ONLY - to 3cm. You will see that all other margins remain unchanged, rather than automatically updating".
Do you know what my silly little brain found so confusing about that? It was the 'developer' tab. I was looking for it in the wrong place. I was looking for it from within the 'page set up' tab, when, of course, it wasn't there. It said that it wasn't there (the clue was in the name: 'tab'. It was a completely separate section in its own right), but my frustrated, addled mind couldn't accept it. Because I thought I already knew what I was doing with this bit, and hadn't paid proper attention, then panicked when - amazingly - it didn't work the way it should have.
...yeah.
So, the first 45 minutes of my first session didn't go so well. But, after finally going and asking for help - which is, as she pointed out, after all exactly why she and the other two tutors are there in the first place - and heeding her advice to read carefully and not preempt - and above all; if stuck, to simply say so, no matter how small and silly the problem seemed - I settled down and started to get some work done.
Y'know, I was so thrilled when I was able to turn to page 2. that I gave a little squeal: "yay!"
That was my first day at college. A feeling of humiliation, followed by admittance of ignorance, followed by reassurance and guidance, followed by three and a half hours of productivity.
The second day went a lot more smoothly.
I still only managed to complete two skill sets, which disappointed me a little; I had been hoping to manage to get through three. But then again, I had an entire hour and a half less to work within and in any case, the exercises were larger and more complicated. This time, I didn't faff about, anyway: as soon as I encountered a problem that I couldn't rectify myself within five minutes, up I got and over to the nearest tutor I walked.
I think that's a fair amount. I didn't want to waste time, but at the same time I needed to at least try, first. I'm proud to say that the majority of the time, I managed without help.
I was less so, admittedly, that those times that I couldn't, it turned out to be something really obvious, but still, one can't have everything...
Anyway, we'll see. I'll be back there again on Wednesday, all fired up and ready to go.
In other news: I haven't written a solitary word of my Story all week. This is disappointing, but in all honesty not surprising, as I have barely had a minute to even think, let alone think and write, and those minutes that I have had have been used for allowing my suddenly-forced-to-work brain time to rest and regroup.
I'm sure that once I've gotten used to the new schedule, that I will be able to start up again. For today, however, I am only aiming to get typed up the few pages of the week before (when I had almost as little time, but hadn't become a student and forced my brain out of retirement yet) and nothing more. If I feel inspired to write; great. But I'm not going to beat myself up about it if I don't.
In other, other news, my job really sucks sometimes (which can be said for lots of jobs) and yesterday afternoon's shift was particularly bad - I'm not going to go over all of it now. Suffice to say; lots of little bits of suck joined together to make one great blob of suck - and my overall mood was not helped by the fact that I skidded over on a patch of black ice and hurt my hand on the way there.
The journey home felt longer than usual, with me feeling exhausted and sorry for myself. During it, three different sets of people stood out enough for me to want to note them down here.
I've thought about how to best describe them, and in the end decided that it can be said in the form of a short letter from me to them.
So, without further ado, to finish the post off with a flourish, here t'is...
To The Group Of Boys, who made fun of me, when I was already feeling awful:
I hate you.
To The Girl, who smiled at me, for no reason other than to acknowledge my existence:
I thank you.
- and last but not least -
To The Would-You-Like-Some-Crisps Lady and Her Son, who did nothing but walk past nearby, her with a small contented smile on her face, and him with a glumly resigned expression on his (carrying as he was three multi-packs of Penguin chocolate bars):
I think I love you both a little bit.
Sincerely,
B.C.B.F.L.B x
Anyhoot. College went well, overall, after a slightly rocky start.
The books I am using took a little getting used to, you see, due to my tendency to both preempt and skim read, along with my utter determination to work it out myself, rather than ask for help (a hangup from my school days. I was fat and unpopular; the LAST thing one wanted was to draw extra attention). The three of these things, I was assured when I finally gave in and went to confess to the tutor - red faced and feeling like a complete failure - that I was stuck on instruction 2) on page 1., were totally normal and understandable, etc. etc.
People coming in who already have some knowledge - even a little bit of knowledge - of the subject they are trying to learn are apparently at a particular disadvantage due to the fact that their brain will grab hold onto the bits it already knows - such as: "set top left margin to 3cm"! Yes! I can do that! I know how to do that! - while merrily glossing over the other parts of the instruction - such as: "set top left margin to 3cm. First, select margins from page set up. The box will look like this (picture inserted). Change top left margin to 3cm. You will note that the numbers in the other boxes change automatically (this is to keep the margins set levelly). Change the top left margin back to its default (1.5cm) then Click OK. Now, go to the developer tab, and select margins and tabs. A box will appear. Check that free page is selected; if not, select, then click OK, then OK again. Then select margins again from page set up. You will notice that the box looks like this (picture inserted). Check the free style box. Then set top left margin - ONLY - to 3cm. You will see that all other margins remain unchanged, rather than automatically updating".
Do you know what my silly little brain found so confusing about that? It was the 'developer' tab. I was looking for it in the wrong place. I was looking for it from within the 'page set up' tab, when, of course, it wasn't there. It said that it wasn't there (the clue was in the name: 'tab'. It was a completely separate section in its own right), but my frustrated, addled mind couldn't accept it. Because I thought I already knew what I was doing with this bit, and hadn't paid proper attention, then panicked when - amazingly - it didn't work the way it should have.
...yeah.
So, the first 45 minutes of my first session didn't go so well. But, after finally going and asking for help - which is, as she pointed out, after all exactly why she and the other two tutors are there in the first place - and heeding her advice to read carefully and not preempt - and above all; if stuck, to simply say so, no matter how small and silly the problem seemed - I settled down and started to get some work done.
Y'know, I was so thrilled when I was able to turn to page 2. that I gave a little squeal: "yay!"
That was my first day at college. A feeling of humiliation, followed by admittance of ignorance, followed by reassurance and guidance, followed by three and a half hours of productivity.
The second day went a lot more smoothly.
I still only managed to complete two skill sets, which disappointed me a little; I had been hoping to manage to get through three. But then again, I had an entire hour and a half less to work within and in any case, the exercises were larger and more complicated. This time, I didn't faff about, anyway: as soon as I encountered a problem that I couldn't rectify myself within five minutes, up I got and over to the nearest tutor I walked.
I think that's a fair amount. I didn't want to waste time, but at the same time I needed to at least try, first. I'm proud to say that the majority of the time, I managed without help.
I was less so, admittedly, that those times that I couldn't, it turned out to be something really obvious, but still, one can't have everything...
Anyway, we'll see. I'll be back there again on Wednesday, all fired up and ready to go.
In other news: I haven't written a solitary word of my Story all week. This is disappointing, but in all honesty not surprising, as I have barely had a minute to even think, let alone think and write, and those minutes that I have had have been used for allowing my suddenly-forced-to-work brain time to rest and regroup.
I'm sure that once I've gotten used to the new schedule, that I will be able to start up again. For today, however, I am only aiming to get typed up the few pages of the week before (when I had almost as little time, but hadn't become a student and forced my brain out of retirement yet) and nothing more. If I feel inspired to write; great. But I'm not going to beat myself up about it if I don't.
In other, other news, my job really sucks sometimes (which can be said for lots of jobs) and yesterday afternoon's shift was particularly bad - I'm not going to go over all of it now. Suffice to say; lots of little bits of suck joined together to make one great blob of suck - and my overall mood was not helped by the fact that I skidded over on a patch of black ice and hurt my hand on the way there.
The journey home felt longer than usual, with me feeling exhausted and sorry for myself. During it, three different sets of people stood out enough for me to want to note them down here.
I've thought about how to best describe them, and in the end decided that it can be said in the form of a short letter from me to them.
So, without further ado, to finish the post off with a flourish, here t'is...
I hate you.
To The Girl, who smiled at me, for no reason other than to acknowledge my existence:
I thank you.
- and last but not least -
To The Would-You-Like-Some-Crisps Lady and Her Son, who did nothing but walk past nearby, her with a small contented smile on her face, and him with a glumly resigned expression on his (carrying as he was three multi-packs of Penguin chocolate bars):
I think I love you both a little bit.
Sincerely,
B.C.B.F.L.B x
Wednesday, 4 January 2017
4th January 2016.
Dad.
The last time I walked on the beach, I enjoyed the feeling of the salty air; the wind tousling my hair, the sound of the sea in my ears, the smell of the sea in my lungs.
But above all that: I enjoyed the sense of you, plodding along amiably beside me.
You didn't speak. I couldn't see you. There were no footprints in the sand.
But I knew you were there,
And in that moment, that was all that mattered.
Happy Birthday, big guy.
Always,
Alice. x
The last time I walked on the beach, I enjoyed the feeling of the salty air; the wind tousling my hair, the sound of the sea in my ears, the smell of the sea in my lungs.
But above all that: I enjoyed the sense of you, plodding along amiably beside me.
You didn't speak. I couldn't see you. There were no footprints in the sand.
But I knew you were there,
And in that moment, that was all that mattered.
Happy Birthday, big guy.
Always,
Alice. x
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