Monday, February 28, 2005

SW England here we come!

After a cool chat with Jenny over Yahoo! (which now includes some nifty soundbites you can send) we came up with a wishlist and managed to get some ground over what we're gonna do. We're going to a show in the West End and visiting Stonehenge, Bath, and Cornwall. A sort of tour of Southern England, so to speak.

Since my geography is appalling, I took the time to recreate a map of SW England by taking an A-Z and tracing the coastline from Bognor Regis all the way round to Bristol. All the principal towns are marked on the map and it is now Blu-tacked to my bedroom wall. This is so when I drop a random place name we can stay and get asked, "Erm, where?", I will know the exact location! Anna thinks its a nerdy and stupid idea. I think she's just upset she doesn't get to do silly stuff like me.

Saturday, February 26, 2005

Summer holiday

I was up until 2.30am this morning trying to get as much information possible on holidaying in the West Country this year. I even took notes! I have this pile of paper next to me with info such as caravan and chalet berths, nearby attractions, prices, and restrictions on all female group bookings. I'm actually rather offended by the non-all female bookings. It's insulting to think that a group of females in their late 20's can't be trusted not to trash their accommodation. Still, rules are rules, and typically it's the cheaper places that don't allow it.

I've come to the conclusion that, as romantic as it sounds, B&B-ing along the south coast is rather expensive, requires too much planning, and means that more time is spent travelling than doing anything else. So, I'm voting like mad for a holiday park. They have on-site facilities, there's no restrictions on coming and going, and self-catering means that we can have a cheaper alternative to eating out three times a day for a week. They are also excellent base points for visiting localities and attractions, and provide evening entertainment when the card playing becomes a bore.

Jenny is carrying out some excellent research. Really, I am very proud of her abilities to just source knowledge from the Internet. Of course I'm writing essays for comments on everything from price checking to weather! My only worry is that, by the time we've actually decided on somewhere, it's all gonna be booked up and we'll be back at the beginning. Most places are booked a couple of years in advance due to popularity. Sometimes, it's gotten to the point where my father phones the main office and says, "Right, what do you have left?" I'm serious!

My instincts told me that the further inland and from principal towns we are, the cheaper it will be. However, research has found these secluded places are also expensive because they indulge in large log cabins and you pay for the privilege of being out in the middle of nowhere. It's mind boggling stuff. I'm now trying for the northern coast of Devon or Somerset, as this area seems to be a little cheaper than the south coast. It only takes an hour to get from north to south so it shouldn't make much difference as a whole.

*sigh* My head hurts. Sleep... That sounds so good right now...

Thursday, February 24, 2005

No snow show

It didn't snow like all the weather programme promised it would. Apparently it was 1½C too warm for snow. So that explains the endless drizzle we've had all day then. I'm glad it didn't snow. Driving in snow scares me.

Reuben stuck his tongue out at me today and did that silly thumb-on-your-nose-and-wave thing. I must have looked shocked because he said, "Oh, sorry. It's just you looked pissed off so I thought I'd cheer you up."
"Oh-kay..." I said warily.
I'm still not sure what to make of him. Taj said that the reason he was perky was because he is apparently going to Kenya in a couple of weeks and is (obviously) pretty jazzed about it. I think I still need to sit this one out a bit more...!

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

I want my GRO

I had to visit one of the Council's call centres this morning for a chance to see the GRO in action. It's basically a computer programme intergrated with our repairs system that allows the user to see diagrams of pipes, baths, sinks, windows etc and the various common faults associated with each. It's designed to help the call centres find the root of the problem from tenants' descriptions minus the 'techno-speak'.

So I'm paired up with Handan who logs her phone into the repairs system only. This means that when a call comes through on the repairs line, it will go straight to her phone first. All the phones can be programmed to pick up one or all of the lines the centre deal with (repairs, council tax, graffiti, parking, benefits) and the centre is a buzz of phones constantly ringing and constant chatter. It was really cool to see another office at work and how different everything was from my own office. The women on the desks around me were surprised when I said how people came into work in jeans and trainers, and that it wasn't uncommon for people to yell or swear across the room every ten minutes. There is a very different working environment in a depot from an office!

Anyways, this GRO system is a doddle. You click on the pictures, the repairs come up, click on the repair button, and the order is all written and ready to print at one of the depots. I was amazed at how easy it was. In the time it would have taken me to manually type out a works order, Handan has answered a call, identified the problem, issued an order, and set an appointment. I'm lost for words at how much easier my job would be if I had this programme. Unfortunately it doesn't cater for asbestos-related problems, so unless they upgrade, I'm still manually typing out my orders.

Anyway, I managed to entertain everyone with my extensive knowledge of asbestos and described the removal process to Handan, because her friend has suspected asbestos and may need it removed before she rennovates. So I did my party piece! And I decided that, despite the easy job logging process, I wouldn't wanna work there. Endless telephone work, limited use of email, and one computer monitoring every single call and conversation everyone has in the centre. Big Brother eat your heart out - the Council is watching you!

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Snow

It's snowing. Badly. After having the warmest January in fifteen years, we've suddenly been thrown into a cold snap, with temperatures dropping below 0C and snow from Scandinavia of all places! All day we've had fluttering snowflakes and blizzard-like storms but nothing settling. Of course, now its the evening and something like -2C outside, it's settling and is probably about 3 inches deep by now.

Monday, February 21, 2005

Gmail

It's official. I have Gmail. The oh-so-coveted emailing programme that has been available to a select few is now a little more widespread and those who signed up on the waiting list months ago (like me!) now have the chance to get their email account before everyone else when the general release comes about.

So I have an account with Gmail but haven't used it as yet. Apparently there's still a few bugs in it and I'd rather wait until the official release date so if I do get any problems, they won't be brushed aside. It's important to do these things properly.

Saturday, February 19, 2005

Calling from Cheshunt...?

Dad thinks he's found it. The house he was looking for. It's an ex-B&B in Cheshunt, almost on top of the train station and ten yards from a pub. The location explains the knock-down price (two words - 24/7 noise). But, as an ex-B&B, it has plenty enough rooms for all of us, plus a guest room.

The place is advertised as having seven bedrooms. This is the main bedroom (with en-suite and spiral staircase to own sitting room), plus five cupboards and a study/guest room. If we convert the dining room into a bedroom too, that's eight bedrooms. Of course, Dad and Pam have the ultra-large bedroom with en-suite, while us 'kids' get the cupboards and share our own bathroom... I feel a little bitter about the tiny bedrooms, but I guess it at least means I get my own space. I mean, 20-odd years of sharing a bedroom, and in the end, you just grab what you're given!

The house itself is actually a house and 'granny annexe' knocked through together as one. The upstairs of the annexe is coved, so people over 5'10" get to duck as they walk! The two sitting rooms are very large and the rear garden is easily five times larger than the one we have at the moment. But the hallways are narrow, especially the staircases, and it feels a bit like the flats we had to use when we went on self-catering holidays in Norfolk when I was a child. Narrow, slightly cramped, low ceilings, dark, and unnecessary exposed beams (I was told later the beams were fake and we'd just pull them off the walls).

I guess we'll just have to wait and see... I think the fact we're all a bit put out by the small bedrooms is a slight set-back...

Friday, February 18, 2005

Another one...

Yet another receptionist started work in our building today. We go through them like hot dinners. The problem is that we need someone to cover reception so contractors and visitors to the building don't go wandering around and can be dealt with. However, most of the contractors we use send the same operatives to our jobs each time (so we know them, the tenants know them, etc) so they know where they need to go, and don't even stop by the reception, and just walk straight past to the person they need to see. All in all, apart from the odd company director coming in for a meeting, the reception itself is pretty quiet, and all the receptionist does is frank the post and book the meeting rooms. Rather boring... which is why we go through so many of them. They just get too bored and move on to another job within a few weeks.

But this guy, Reuben, is different. He seems to actually like the job and vehemently denies being bored (even though I can tell he is). He brings in a new book every day, insisting that its his interest that drives him to read, not his boredom (yeah right!). Reuben is also extremely perky. Perky with a capital P-E-R-K-Y. He would even surpass Melissa in Monday morning perkiness, which is a scary concept, I know. I'm keeping a wary eye on this one...

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

The One With Clare & Rosemary's Day Of Fun

I took a day off work today to take Rosemary out for the day to do whatever she wanted to do. Her immediate response? "Can we go to the National Portrait Gallery?" Can we ever! So we spent a good deal of this morning walking the corridors of the NPG. She knew a few of the people in the '1960's Britain onwards' section and we went to the Victorian and Tudor sections as well, as she's studying those periods in history at school.

Afterwards, we traipsed around Leicester Square a little, watching camera crews set up for tonight's premiere of Shall We Dance? starring Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon. Apparently, Mr Gere is in London tonight. Alas, we didn't see him at all. I was disappointed. "Why do you like Richard Gere?" Rosemary asks. Uhm, Pretty Woman? Helloooo?!

After lunch, we tubed to Knightsbridge so Rosemary could see the food halls at Harrods. She was pretty much in awe of everything she saw. And when we reached the toy section, she went crazy and started rushing from stand to stand to see everything! One toy was a mechanical panda that has movable arms, so when you hug it around its middle, it hugs you back and says things like, "I love you" and "I like hugging you". She absolutely adored it and did nothing but refer to it for the rest of the day. It was enough to make me go barmy. I wouldn't have minded buying it but it was £35 and its not even a special occasion... Maybe for her birthday! She did buy an outfit for her boy Bratz doll (Koby - how gay does that sound?) which was some compensation.

We didn't have time to make a stop at Hamley's so we made a quick stop to the Disney Store on Bond Street before heading home. Again, she went bananas and started hugging all the cuddly toys she could reach but she was easily placated with a Piglet jelly lollipop and fluffy keyring.

I like these days out with Rosemary. I don't get to spend a lot of time with her, as I work all day and in the evenings, she's usually occupied with homework. Plus the 13-year age gap does really show sometimes. It's more of an aunt-niece relationship than sister-sister. But we had fun and that's the main thing!

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Happy birthday

It's Heather's 21st birthday today. And it's Tara's birthday. And it's Lynne's birthday. What on earth is happening during June every year...?!

Monday, February 14, 2005

St Valentine's Day

*sigh* Empty postbox again.

Okay, that was a lie. I had some mail today. A pay slip, a bank statement, and two clothes catalogues. No cards. Dreams and visions of walking into work and finding my desk buried under a mountain of rose petals and swathes of chiffon disintegrated when nothing was on my desk save two sample bags of suspected asbestos floor tiles.

Is romance dead? Aren't I supposed to have a secret admirer writing me cute little notes and threading single stems through my windscreen wipers for me to find? Okay, if that happened, I would probably go to the police and report a suspected stalker. But I want to have something incurably romantic to happen to me!

My mate said that if her boyfriend bought her anything for Valentine's Day, she would get mad because he shouldn't be wasting his money on her. (Yes, she actually said that!) My other mate said that buying stuff on Valentine's Day wasn't romantic because it's expected and it's more romantic to be spontaneous. Okay, he's male and is just trying to justify not ever buying flowers. But is it really that dreary on the romanic outlook?

I'm not saying I want to grow fat on endless boxes of chocolate, have a room full of cuddly bears, and have vases full of flowers that only last a few days. I'm just asking for a little romance. Even if its just a card on St V's.

Saturday, February 12, 2005

In Acton Town

My brother is trying to get onto a music course for the next academic year, doing either a diploma or a degree. He's not quite sure yet what he wants to do. He did a BTec last year and is working during his gap year to earn a bit of money and sort out what he wants to do with his life. Still not quite there yet but anyhow...

He's found this rather prestigous place in Acton where several well-known artists have graduated from in the past. They are a picky lot and insist on an intake of twelve students per course: lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, vocals. They say it's so they can give each student the attention they need. The reality is that they are crammed into a tiny building and there's no way it can accommodate more than 48 students plus staff.

Anyway, since Dad has conveniently gone away for the weekend, I take my brother to Acton for the open day. Chris admits he can't map read but finally gets the hang of it when we hit Shepherds Bush i.e. when we're almost there. *sigh* We get there and the place is practically deserted. We're told to wait in the foyer, which is six chairs against the wall and a watercooler. After 45 mins, Chris asks when it starts and is told that it's not for another hour. Annoyed, we bail and find lunch before heading back ten mins before it all starts.

Once it got going, it was good. There were live performances by the teachers, who explained about the school and its teaching methods inbetween sets. It was rather professional and we liked what we saw. Chris manage to sign up an assessment for both lead guitar and drums on the same day, which is a nice thing to hear when you have to cart your gear across London! He's a little nervous, obviously because of the small intake and because there were like 100 people there, but I think he'll do well. My fingers and toes are crossed for him!!

Friday, February 11, 2005

Busy busy bee bzzz...

I've been so busy the past week that everything has just flown by and I haven't done anything outside of the office. Since doing work for another directorate, I've barely had time to make myself coffee in the mornings or take a lunch break, it's been so manic. I'm not getting paid enough for this! Still, my six-month probation is coming up and from there on, it's a slow climb up the spinal points and gradual raises for the next two years. Well, it's something to look forward to!

Saturday, February 05, 2005

The day fashion died

Anna had to go to a Teaching seminar today but wasn't feeling too good so I offered to accompany her to Embankment before setting off to Oxford Street in my search for Sketchers and the perfect dress. Halfway through my plans, I was supposed to meet Mina for lunch but she texted to say that she was in A&E and wouldn't be able to make it. It just gave me the entire day to work on my quest - excellent!

Unfortunately I found the downside to getting older... I don't like the current fashion. I know, I was horrified myself when I realised it. But I walked through Jane Norman, Morgan, Topshop, Selfridges, all my usual haunts, and all I could find were micro minis, slouch boots (a personal hate), peasant skirts, smocked tops and cheap-looking sequined numbers. Is this what young people of London wear? It would seem so. In fact, the only things I saw and really liked was a £500 John Frieda dress in Selfridges and a £350 Ghost dress in House of Fraser. I can never justify buying designer, and defintely cannot justify those amounts of money for something I would hardly ever wear. What is a girl to do?

I bravely took some items off the rails in New Look and settled into the changing room. I put stuff on and tried my best to like it... but it wasn't happening. I looked like mutton dressed as lamb - a twentysomething trying to look like a tweenie. I give up. Or maybe I should just give Trinny and Susannah a ring...?

PS Cropped trousers are a bad look for everyone. Please do not wear unless you want to look like you've just jumped ship.

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Tea with James Stewart

When you are sick with a cold, 'flu, or similar, do not drink lots of hot fluids and watch a weepie. You are guaranteed a one-way ticket to phlegm overload.

Here's the deal: hot fluids, whilst comforting, are not good for stuffed noses. The steam breaks the plugs but makes you more liquidy and actually generates more liquid than regular nostrils can cope with. Meanwhile, weepie films, made to make you cry, will actually work ten times better when you are at an all-time low of feeling sorry for yourself because you are ill. Plus, you have the hyper-senstivity of zero immune system and just feeling more vulnerable than usual.

So, drinking tea and watching It's A Wonderful Life is not a good combination! I was sniffly and tearful throughout the entire film. I usually only get emotional at the end. Today, I was even crying when George confronts Mr Gower with the pills he's made up for Mrs Blaine's son with diptheria. I was a freaking mess! Only watch this film during normal healthiness... And you simply have to watch it if you never have before. I love this film!