With friends like these...

So, I've been working with a social enterprise called Joining Communities, whose primary aim is to get unemployed people back into work. Unfortunately for the most part a lot of people who come in have been forced to by the JobCentre, and they don't really want to be there, but those folks are nothing to do with me. Not yet, anyway.

I've been working on drafting a couple of policies. As a new company (not even two years old), there are a lot of things that are simply taken as read. So, I got given the task of drafting up a social media policy, and a communications policy. They're both currently almost 1200 words long and I don't even know if they're right, but I think they are. They're finished, anyway, as much as they can be without someone giving me some more direction and I spent the last hour of the work day yesterday dragging my poor abused brain out of the mire of data protection law that it had got itself stuck in.

The weirdest thing about looking back on these things is I don't feel as if I'm the one who wrote them.

Well I don't have to think too hard about them now. Tomorrow, Kay N. and I will be going down to a course that's on in the building for confidence building for vulnerable women and taking some photos for the site's blog. Of course, we'll be making sure that they're comfortable with it first and if they don't want their faces shown we can set it up so they don't have to show them. It's just going to be nice to get away from those bloody policies and do something more fun.

Yes, it's me, I'm still alive!

How long has it been since I last posted properly.... erm. Wow. Nearly a month.

Jeez...

Guess I should let y'all know what I've been up to! To be honest... roleplaying, mostly. I've joined a couple of games on DW and they've been keeping me pretty busy, but I've settled now and should definitely get back into writing. I noticed it's been a month since my last fic update I am so sorry about that I haven't even noticed the time passing so quickly. It's even half done and everything. I'll have that up soon as I can remember where I was actually going with it.

I still don't have a job and I'm still not much closer to getting one, but I'm still trying. I suppose it won't be much longer before the Jobcentre starts pushing even harder at me but I can't do more than I'm already doing and I'm not going to spend a load of my own money to go trolling around Wigan/Manchester/Warrington looking for jobs. I'm unemployed. I can't afford £4.50 on public transport however many times a week. It's the undeniable flaw in their logic, I think.

Though speaking of work I'm still volunteering at the British Heart Foundation. I've managed to garner myself a couple of admirers and while the attention is flattering it isn't exactly wanted. One of them has backed off, but the other is being a little more persistent. Not pushily or creepily so, but I think he's got it into his head that if he can just persuade me that I'd like to try to have something with him then it would all work out fine. I don't get into relationships anymore for a variety of reasons, and the fact that he's on the rebound after coming after an eight year long relationship with someone who just left him about three weeks ago would mean that even if I did like him that way I wouldn't be getting into anything with him now.

He's a nice enough guy and I think he's trying to be understanding about why I don't want to be with anyone, but I don't think he can quite get his head around the idea of someone who has no sexual desire.

Still, until he starts getting annoying, I'll allow it. He's not doing any harm and it's not like he's cornering me and demanding anything. I'd just be reluctant about doing anything with him 'as friends' in case he takes it as a sign that I'm starting to come around to the idea.

Hmm.

Last Saturday, I met up with the amazingly awesome nasty_show again and we went to see The Avengers. I hadn't been terribly bothered about seeing it since superhero films aren't one of the things I lose my shit over, but I was curious, and Holly once again swept me up in her enthusiasm as she has a tendency to do.

Luckily, that morning, the birthday present that I had bought for her had also arrived! It was late, but it was the first I'd seen her after her birthday so what can you do.

This is what I got her.



It's a pendant, and I bought it from a seller on Etsy. It's about a centimetre high and hand made, and the cutest thing. We had some lunch at my house and then went off to the cinema.

I HAVE NEVER HAD LESS REGRETS ABOUT SEEING A FILM I DIDN'T INITIALLY CARE ABOUT.

Seriously. If you have not seen The Avengers yet then you need to. Even if you don't care about superhero films.

I would see it again. Easily.

Nothing much happened through the week. The manager was off work so we actually got stuff done. Honestly, the manager is lovely but she tends to flit about and get under your feet, while the assistant manager actually organises herself and everyone else. The only major problem we've had is one of the new staff seems to be dating all the new stock incorrectly. We've found stock dated 9/12 (9th of December), and if anyone from head office came in and saw that we would be in so much trouble.

I did, however, have the shock of my life on Friday afternoon. The phone rang, and Sue had her hands full downstairs so she called up to me to answer it. Kurtis, one of the other volunteers, is a nice guy but a bit socially backwards. He was closer to the phone, so he said he would answer it. I said okay.

However, had I known he would give off the 'hello British Heart Foundation' etc spiel in the most bored tone imaginable and then top it off by saying 'what do you want', I wouldn't have let him within ten feet of the phone. It is a place of work. You do not answer the phone like that.

I ended up having to take the phone off him anyway and apologise to the woman he was speaking to before I took down her address and number because he was just mumbling into the phone and couldn't seem to fathom how to hold the phone between his ear and shoulder while he wrote her address down. He's lucky it was just someone ringing for a pickup, not the manager, or the area manager, or someone from head office, or anyone. I smacked him over the head with a clipboard when I put the phone down and told him to never answer the phone again.

For the love of GOD.

Anyone who has made it this far, I congratulate you. There's still more.

Last night, my dad took my sister and I to see Avenue Q. We've seen it before, but dad hasn't. Our dad is one of those cool dads who is an utter nerd and lets you cuss (within reason) and goes to see things like Avenue Q with you. He loved it, and I had actually forgotten how rude it is.

Before that, though, we went to my nanna's with my aunt and two cousins. My cousin Sam is eight (I think?) and one of those kids who tends to just ignore you. I brought a Simon's Cat book along with me, which I'd picked up at the shop for £2.50 (£12.99 new, bloody bargain), to show to my nanna because I know she likes Simon's cat, and my cousin took a liking to it and spent an hour going through it with us. He then went through it again when we were done because he liked it so much.

Sometimes, he can be cute.

Now to the latest thing - my sister has expressed an interest to go to MCM London next year - a pan-fandom convention. She's not into anime, and has never really shown any interest in this kind of thing before, but now she wants to go.

And she wants to cosplay.

She gained so many cool points from me for that. More than she got from being able to quote the Magic Cupcakes video despite never having read Homestuck. Which my dad can now also do since I showed it to him. Amy wants to cosplay Rapunzel, á la Tangled, and I'm going to be her Mother Gothel. I have a friend who makes the most beautiful cosplays and she's going to see how much it would cost to make them for us, rather than having to settle for whatever we can find on ebay (because Gothel costumes are non-existent and Amy doesn't really like the look of the Rapunzel ones).

She's going to have a Pascal and take a frying pan with her. xD

*DEEP BREATH*

So. How are all of you?

At least for now, anyway. I've spent more than my usual on clothes this past week. I just hope that the bank doesn't lock my account again when all the purchases go through like they did when I bought a bunch of MS points off Xbox LIVE.

First, I bought this:



The Hero of Blood hoodie from Homestuck. I mostly bought this because I don't own a nice hoodie and I needed one, and I might as well buy one that's so awesome I want to wear it all the time.

After that, I bought this:



From amazon.com, and yes I did buy it in royal blue. My sister found it and showed it to me and at £10 I couldn't NOT get it.

Lastly, just now, I gave in to temptation and to my nerdy side and bought this:



A t-shirt designed by the artist of Questionable Content. People who haven't played Mass Effect will not get this.

I am a nerd. I will wear it proudly.

So I went swimming with sharks today ajfdlgjdfk

Yes.

Sharks.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Here are the pictures.

We were in pairs. I'm the one with the longer hair. I may have a video or two, if mum can figure out how to upload them from her camcorder.

The Good News:

I got a promotion (of sorts) at work on Monday, which means that I can now use all of the functions on the till and no longer need to call upstairs if I cock up or if someone needs to return something. I am very pleased with this. Kurtis was less than pleased as he's been working in the store since before Christmas and is still on the lower level, but Kurtis is nice enough, but he's a ditzy sod and Michelle doesn't trust him with the higher till functions when he's still messing up the lower ones.

I'm also being trusted to put the Gift Aid takings in pretty much every day I work unless Sue is counting up the till because for some reason she always nicks off with the form and takes it upstairs. I'm not sure why she does that because I'm perfectly capable of adding it up myself xD

My shark swim is in three weeks! Doesn't feel that long ago that I booked it, so yaaay.

Also I found a voucher that my sister and bought last September for a photography session. It's up on the 22nd of this month, but I emailed the place anyway, and they told me that fortunately they can extend it and they're going to call me to arrange a session, so that should be fun! They ask for £50 deposit to make sure you turn up, but you can get that back at the end, or use it to buy some of the photos they take.

Ben has finally stopped trying to chew his feet off. We had to get a cone for him eventually, which he didn't approve of, but it stopped the licking/biting habit for long enough that his paws could properly heal and now he isn't doing it anymore. He's currently asleep on my bed, the little sweetie.

The Not So Good News:

I got news back from my job interview, and unfortunately I didn't get the job. The same usual stuff about the quality of applicants being very high and unfortunately I was one of the ones they dropped. Mum thinks I should ring up and ask where I went wrong but I don't really want to, I'm just going to chalk it up to experience and move on. I think she was more miffed about it than I was to be honest! Oh well. Keep calm, carry on and all that.

Starting to lose a lot of enthusiasm with this whole job search thing.

Other Stuff:

A few days ago, I put down Game of Thrones in order to read Good Omens, as a number of my friends have been raving about it lately. I might give a full review when I'm done, but at the moment (and at the risk of being lynched), I have to say it's nothing special. Yes, it's funny, I'll give it that, but the narrative trips over itself at times and sometimes drags, and I don't really think it utilises the best of both of the authors. I do adore Aziraphale and Crowley, though, and their interactions definitely make it worth reading.

In other news, I bought a TARDIS for my goldfish. I kid you not. Here, look.



Check that bad boy out, how cool is that? I found it for £1.50 in the charity shop where I work, and I wasn't sure what it was for at first, but as soon as I realised I just had to buy it. His usual castle can get a bit of a break.

Lastly, we have a mouse living in our kitchen. It's decided to live in the back of the cooker and I'm not sure where exactly it's living in there, or how it's not boiling alive when the oven is on. We've caught three and think this is the last one, but it is so devilishly smart that it keeps avoiding the traps and getting the better of us at every turn. It comes out in the evening, when we're all still up, and I've seen it several times now (and almost caught it once!), as it's run across the windowsill or counter when the light's been turned on.

Today, I was in the kitchen when I heard an odd noise, like gnawing. I eventually located it. The mouse was inside the toaster. I got my stepdad to listen, and he tried to arrange the various traps we have to catch it, then moved the toaster. It shot out, and avoided all of the traps, and went back down behind the cooker again. People keep telling me we should get a specialist to sort it, but I don't know what a specialist could do that we haven't done, at this point.

I don't want to end up killing it, it's not as if it's there to be malicious, but it's a mouse, and they carry diseases, so it can't stay in the house =|

I've been slacking off a bit with entries lately but here I am again.

Last Thursday, I spent some very fun times with nasty_show. I was waiting until she got her entry up so I could snag her photos and if I could I would be lazy and link to it but it is unfortunately friends locked so here we go :V

We met up at about quarter to one because I was derpy and late, and I must have had one of the slowest and rudest bus drivers working for First. Pleh. Anyway I got there eventually and was very happy to see the squishy derp that is Holly because I love her face.

( LOOK AT ALL OF THIS RIGHT HERE. Long entry is long. )

I don't usually work Tuesdays, but I went in today with my sister because she's doing two mornings a week. We were there from 10am until 1pm, and I probably should have worked harder than I did but hey I wasn't meant to be there anyway.

While I was upstairs, I saw a book that I recognised the title of - Game of Thrones. I've heard a lot about this book so I picked it up to have a look, then under it I saw another one by the same author - the third book (part one, paperback). After a bit more digging I found...



I got all of these for £1.50 each, and the latter four don't even appear to have been read. The spines are completely undamaged. The fifth book comes out in paperback on March 15th and I will hopefully have finished this pile of dead tree and ink by then. I still have The Time Traveller's Wife to read, as well as another book I picked up called The Last Templar. I spent £10 on six books. I love charity shops.

In other news, I've finally booked the shark dive that my dad bought me for my birthday. Yes, you read right - shark dive. It's booked for the sixth of April, and it is going to be awesome. It's been so long since I used SCUBA gear, I hope I didn't forget how to breathe properly.

Also this.

GT: But my thought process sort of went like this.
GT: Hes been my best friend forever and ive always liked him a lot as a bro.
GT: And years ago i used to joke around with him that we would probably be totally into each other if he was a girl.
GT: But of course that was before i started to realize he was probably serious about those feelings for me regardless.
GT: Heheh come to think of it maybe that was unwittingly poor form on my part kind of leading him on or something?
GG: Whoops!!
GT: But then...
GT: Later i started thinking.
GT: Maybe i was being kind of unfair to him in the first place?
GT: I mean by saying we would be a good match only if he was a girl.
GT: Like is that last condition there really all THAT important?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!

So, we have mice. So far, we've caught (and when I say caught I mean killed, this isn't my choice) two of the little buggers, and we know there's at least one more. This last one, if it is the last one, is a sneaky little bastard. It's eaten the bait off the trap three times so far, without setting the trap off at all. But we'll get it. Eventually. I'm not about to let this turn into Mouse Hunt.

In a little over two hours, I have a job interview. I've never had one before. Then I need to get an early night because I have a goddamn JSA meeting at 9.40 in the morning. My mind is already rebelling against the idea of 9 - 5 and I don't even work yet. I am just going to fail at life, forever. Well, I'm in no hurry to move out and I think so long as I pay my way mother will be in no hurry to kick me out, and god knows with how the bills are going by the time I want to move out I won't be able to because if I do my parents won't be able to afford the house.

I think I'll just keep subtly nudging nasty_show into getting a flat with me =P

I've started to play Echo Bazaar again, and now I can't get the idea of what an EB!Arthur would be like out of my head. I've had a few phrases and mental images floating around in my head for a while now so I'm going to see how well I can put them down.

--

Arthur hadn't been the same since London fell. At first it had been hard to see, but then the deterioration had occurred so quickly that even if there had been something they could have done to stop it, there would have been no time. He had been quiet, he said he was fine. Then he began to forget people's names. He began to dress strangely and talk in short, aggravated tones to voices that no one else could hear. Voices that he always addressed as 'Master'. He would talk about things that no one else understood, and then appear distressed at the blank, uncomprehending looks that he would receive in response to his ramblings. Within days, it seemed, dark circles appeared under his eyes and when he smiled it was always slowly, as if the muscles had forgotten the correct arrangement for a smile and were pulling into something closer to a smirk. He would laugh in the middle of meetings at nothing then act as if he hadn't, growing irritated if he was accused.

It was greeted with a mixture of concern and relief when he finally ceased attending meetings altogether.

I've been working in the British Heart Foundation store in my town as a volunteer for two weeks now, three days a week, and aside from mucking up the till this Wednesday and losing £19 I've been doing pretty good. The people are friendly and I feel like I'm really fitting in.

Already, I have some tales to tell about the customers. I'm glad we have such supportive managers and we all look out for each other or I would have crumbled more than once.

There's a lot of people who try to rip us off. These are the people who seem to have the wrong idea of what a charity shop is, and try to get us to lower prices on goods that are already a low price, because we are a charity shop, and almost everything is second hand. One fine example is a woman who came in today. Well dressed, probably around retirement age. She picked up an orange sweater, which was a decent label and priced at £4.99, and brought it to the counter. She then asked if she could have it for £4. I don't know where people get the idea they can come into a charity shop and haggle. That top is at £4.99 because we know that's what it will sell for. I went and grabbed the manager, and she came down and said no, she wouldn't lower the price, and she went back upstairs. I moved off to tidy up a rack of clothes, and out of the corner of my eye saw the woman leave.

Without buying the sweater.

Because she couldn't get 99p off it.

Yup.

=~=

We think something is wrong with our dog.

He's always wanting attention, he's throwing up (though he isn't off his food), he randomly starts shaking sometimes, and he looks very tentative when he tries to sit down, like his hips or his legs hurt. Mum's going to take him back to the vet. He's twelve, so he's not young, but at his last checkup there was nothing wrong with him.

I think John's friend at the local shop needs to stop feeding him meat scraps. He always brings them back up.

I've volunteered at a charity shop in my town - the British Heart Foundation - and may also have some work coming with the Red Cross, possibly some admin work for good experience, and also some work at a small theatre in Bolton.

I've not had more than five hours of sleep at once for the past five or six days. I am so tired. I might go to sleep soon, to hell with waking up early. I'll probably just hibernate again.