Waffle

So yesterday, December 23rd, my Pretty Lady finished work for her Christmas break. She goes back on January 10th which is the same day that I start my new job there! Coincidence.

It's kind of possible that I won't see her again before then. We'll do what we can but current circumstances may make it impossible. We'll see.

I've been off work sick all this week after my fall on Saturday morning. Besides the after-effects of the fall(s), I've been struggling with one of the 'orrible flu-like viruses that float around at this time of year. And as you can maybe tell, I can sleep tonight. Firing up the computer again and typing in a stream of drivel may not be the most widely recognised cure for insomnia but the sheep that I might usually count have been quarantined due to unseasonal foot and mouth disease. Funny that. Some people should sometimes be quarantined due to foot-in-mouth disease. I may have to suggests that be implemented in my place of work, particularly for those dealing directly with customers.

Right, lights out again, je pense. I may have to try counting animals that are slightly less boring than sheep. I wonder if it's possible to battle sleeplessness by counting duck-billed platypuses?

Incidentally, there is no universally agreed plural of the word "platypus". "Platypuses" is the usual scientific useage, while the pseudo-intellectual "platypi" is technically incorrect. Apparently. So now we know.

Analysis

Road conditions hazardous, flights to UK cancelled - The Irish Times - Sun, Dec 19, 2010

"It is extremely slippery on many roads in Tipperary, Limerick, Kerry and there are particularly hazardous conditions in Cork."

No shit!

I'm a bit of a mess, really. I don't think that I've done myself any serious head harm by falling. Not physically at least. What I have done is shattered my nerve for walking on the pavements as they are at the moment. I'm hoping that I can get away with it for this week - I don't start work until early afternoon so things may not be too icy (and there'll be buses into the city) and maybe I can get a lift home or possibly work might provide transport.

What I do know is that in the summer I could have walked from my home to the Bus Station in 25 minutes tops. If I had to do it tomorrow, to be at the Bus Station for 6.40 when the first bus runs, I'd need a good hour and a half and would be a gibbering wreck if I finally managed it.

There's meant to be a thaw as of Christmas Day so after that I should hopefully be okay.

It's not just fear of hurting myself again (although God knows I'm a wuss about pain), it's that tiny voice that whispers things about blood clots and fractures and the horrible, clinical sound of the word "brain". I've been thinking about it far too much and I know what it is: I'm scared to lose what I've found, due to a freak accident. I need to get over this PDQ as this way lays madness.

And I think I'm getting a cold. Triffic.

Whoopsie!

Yes, I'm still excited by the prospect of my new job. I had a little difficulty getting into the current one on Saturday, though!

Let me tell you the whole sorry tale...

Friday night was the Team Christmas Party, and typically, snow hit Cork that afternoon. As it's now known that I'll be moving to another job in January I thought I'd better turn up to be sociable. During the course of the evening I was chatting with one of the managers and explained that I wouldn't be staying out late as I was at work at 7 o'clock on Saturday morning. He laughed and said he was pleased to hear that someone who knew what they were doing would be in.

This was still in my mind when I walked out of the house at 6 o'clock Saturday morning and found that the snow from the previous night had half-thawed and then frozen again, leaving the pavements somewhat akin to a skating rink. I'd slipped over once within a few yards of my front door and landed heavily on my hip but managed to get my hands down to protect my head. I distinctly remember muttering to myself "Okay, so it's slippery. Be careful."

About 10 minutes later I was over again. My legs just went out from under me and I fell hard. This time I didn't get the chance to get my hands down and gave my head a nasty rap on the pavement. I nearly gave up and went home at that point, but pressed on On reflection, I'm not sure that was best option.

I live on a road that descends into the city down a steep hill and by the time I reached the bottom of it my nerve had gone completely and I was shuffling along clutching at lamp-posts and window sills. Despite that I made it to the Bus Station in time to catch my bus and got to work.

When I asked someone if they had any painkillers, they seemed to look at me closely and asked "Bloody Hell! What happened to your head?"

To cut the story a little shorter, I was sent, chaperoned, up to a local medical centre for a check up. They established that nothing was broken but recommended that I should go home. So here I've been. I've had 3 lovely ladies checking on me by text and my very own Lovely Lady has phoned a few times and is coming round tomorrow. My head has been gradually improving - at 9 this morning I was nauseous, dizzy and in pain. It's now faded to a dull throb and my hip is giving me far more gyp after that first fall.

I haven't been outside the house at all since the taxi that work paid for dropped me back at the house. I'd like to pop over the road to the shop tomorrow but may need someone to help me to look for my bottle first!!

Secret's out

The formal announcement has been made so I can share it here - I have a new job, starting in January.

It's in the same place but far more the sort of thing that I'd like to be doing. I'm unlikely to go into many more details about the job but I'll blog later (probably) about my feelings about it. For now, 2 words: dead chuffed!

Secret

I've got something to tell you all.

But I can't. Not yet. Patience is a virtue. Some things are worth waiting for.

Waiting

Way past my bedtime, I guess, as I have to be up early. Not as early as I would were a beautiful soul not going out of her way to pick me up in the morning, but still early.

I'm waiting, almost suspended in time, for news about the interview I took. I honestly won't be broken up if I don't get the job - I just want to know.

I also want to blog more regularly, and about differing subjects. I can feel the pressure to write building in me, which, given the job I'm waiting to hear about, is a good thing.

Standing

It's been a strange kind of a day. I've been kind of house-bound with what is laughingly referred to as "an upset stomach". Any further elaboration would probably be over-sharing!

I ventured across the road earl this evening to buy a lottery ticket and quite enjoyed the drizzle on my face. The shop staff, while pleasant enough, aren't really the sort for a chat soit was wonderful to get a couple of unexpected phone calls from my Pretty Lady. She's very good to think of me when her lad is poorly and she's not well herself.

I guess that both she and I are starting to show the strain of the whole "Q4 thing" at work. For an online retailer the build-up to Christmas is a very busy period (next week is what we'd call "peak week") and I think the cracks are starting to show. Any kind of bug that's floating around settles on one and althought it';s possible to hold it at bay during the week by sheer will-power, the slight relaxation at the weekend lets it take hold. I have no doubts that we'll both be in work on Monday morning, though. I'll be hoping for good news following the interview I had on Friday. It (well - they, as there were 3 of them) seemed to go well. So much so that I won't even be disappointed if I don't get the post. After such a good interview, if they give the job to someone else then they're the right person for the job!

I've spent most of the day with the radio on in the background, reading The Stand by Stephen King. While it's probably my favourite story by King, there's something slightly unsetling about reading an apocalyptic tale with no-one else around. It makes for a rather sombre and morose state of mind, which I attempt to close now by going to sleep. Or trying to do so.

Big News!

I have a computer in the house again. And it's mine, not on loan! It's a desktop and it's currently on the floor but that's okay too. I have a computer again and am slowly turning it into what I want.

I also have an important job interview tomorrow, which is why I'm being so brief here. Time for bed.

Drifted

When I was stood outside smoking I had an idea for something to post here. Something deep and meaningful about decisions.

By the time I'd walked back into the building and sat down at a PC it was gone, drifting like lazy snowflakes in the wind. Not completely gone - there's still a slight taste of it in my mind but not in any form that I could express. It was something about choosing to do what you believe in your heart to be right but more than that.

Oh well.

Quandaration

Molto conflicted here. The weather in Ireland is very cold. Our part of the country has escaped the worst of the snow (so far) but some patches of road are extremely icy.

One such patch is about 2 miles from a certain lady's house. On a steep hill. In the middle of nowhere.

I know that she'd like to get home to see her family and I also know that she's scared of driving that patch of road in these conditions. I'm trying to walk a delicate line between being supportive of whatever decision she makes - whether to try to get home (and then risk not being able to get in again in the morning, which isn't currently an option) or being more persuasive in my feeling that she should stay at mine.

My suggestion is (I think) about 30% selfishness that I want her to stay with me and about 70% concern for her safety. Of course, this is likely to be wildly inaccurate as I'm only human and try not to paint myself in a bad light.

What isn't open for discussion is that if she tries the drive I will worry constantly until she lets me know that she's home safely and then worry most of the night about her getting back in in the morning. Yes, I can talk to her on her mobile (she has a hands-free kit) so she has "company" in the car but if she slides off the road what am I gonna do? Walk 30-odd miles to help her? Without hesitation, if I thought that I could actually get to her before, God forbid, an ambulance would.

She'll have guilt if she stays with me, I know that too. All I can do is give her my honest opinion ("no secrets, no lies"), including as honest appraisal of my motives behind it as I can manage and not pressurise her at all. Ultimately, I'll back her in whatever she chooses 100% and if it means walking through the night to help her out of a crashed car then I'll do that too.

The Weather

Very foggy here tonight, all of a sudden.

I kind of like the fog. I know that at this time of years it makes things seem colder and damper than they really are, and makes driving a nightmare, but I like walking in it. It's mysterious somehow, yes, but it seems to impart the same kind of peace that snow does. Whether it's physically possible or not I don't know but it seems to "deaden" sounds.

And talking of snow, they forecast that for here too, over the next few days. Pretty.

Tonight

It seems strange tonight, not to have my Lady by my side.

Sometimes are easier than others, when she's not around. Tonight I'm not sad or miserable or morose or depressed or even especially lonely. I just miss her being in my arms.

The 7th day. Again.

It's Sunday again. I don't know why it is but I'm learning to thoroughly hate Sundays.

I'm not going to sit here and feel sorry for myself. I'm going to go for a walk, pick up a few bits of shopping, come home and have a late lunch, maybe watch a movie and then put together a plan for a permanent, full-time post that's arisen at work. It's not in the training sphere but it does give me a chance to flex my writing and editorial muscles again. Which would be nice.

It would also be regular hours of (I guess) 8.30 - 5.30ish. This is not only a matter of preference. The only buses that would get me out to the business park I work on are run by Skylink and their service is currently "suspended". This means that if I were to revert to my usual role at work and find myself on the early shift, starting at 7.00 in the morning, I'd be scratching around for a lift, paying for cabs or walking upwards of 5 miles. I don't like any of those options.

So I need to get this one, this time!

Monday, Monday

Although the weather last night wasn't especially inviting, it didn't seem to approach the biblical proportions that the forecasters had been warning of. As a particularly erudite woman noted..."there's an awful lots of ass-covering going on there".

I don't make a habit of blogging about work, so I'll just say that it was a bit of a challenging day for lots of people, for lots of reasons, and I'll leave it at that. Sure and it'll be grand!!

So I'm sat here at work waiting for my lovely lady and thought I'd take the opportunity to drop back in again. I'm rather pleased with myself after yesterday - loads of housework done. Largely ironing, and only because I'd remembered to buy hangers. I seem to have been accumulating shirts without hangers which is something I'm clearly going to have to watch in future.

I didn't mention it at all over the weekend but I had a thoroughly enjoyable Saturday afternoon in the local pub, watching two rugby games. It even included a pint "on the house" which can't be bad at all. It was nice to feel welcome.

I had rather a shock today. I learned that the bus company I use to get to work when I'm doing my "usual" job rather than my current interim post, have suspended their service for "10 to 12 weeks". This isn't Bus Éireann, it's a local firm that runs from the city centre out to the airport. They run earlier in the morning so that I'm able to be here for 7 o'clock when required. I'll confess to being a little concerned. If my interim role runs out before they start up again then there's no way that I'm going to be able to get in at that time of the morning without relying on someone's good auspices for a lift and I hate taking people out of their way. There'd be no earthly reason for my Lady to be going to work that early so it'd be a case of asking around other people who start at that kind of time. Or just warning my manager that I'm going to be consistently 5 minutes late. Or walking. I wonder how long 7 km or so would take me, uphill, in the depths of winter! I might have to give it a go one day, just to see.

Sunday evening

It may not have been a complete cure for the Sunday blues but I managed to hold them slightly at bay by immersing myself in housework. I've laundered, ironed and washed up. I've hoovered, scrubbed and tidied. All in between bouts of eating (having been shopping recently), Facebooking and gazing at the weather. Ah yes, the weather.

There are Severe Weather Warnings in place for several coastal districts of Ireland, including Cork. It's one of those times that I'm glad I live at the top of a hill. I'm sat here on my bed and I can hear the rain roaring on the roof. By itself this isn't unusual but tonight it's gone on and on. With a high-tide due I'm also glad that I don't have to travel through the city to get to work. There are going to be floods by the morning, I'm fairly sure.

Luckily a certain lovely lady has offered to pick me up in the morning which will give me an extra hour at least in my lovely new bedding and save me a soaking! Add to that the fact that where I catch the bus is likely to be underwater and I'm even more grateful than usual for a ride into work.

Tomorrow I'm Training Assistant for another class of New Hires. That should be at least the next two weeks spoken for. I can't explain to you all how much I'm enjoying this training lark! But as I need to have a functioning brain in the morning, I guess I'd better be turning in. Goodnight all.

Sunday again

It's chilly today but I guess that's no surprise now it's November.

There is completely foul weather forecast for today so I'm not planning on going anywhere. I guess I have housework to do to keep me out of mischief and to try to keep "the Sunday feeling" at bay.Quite what it is about Sundays, I don't know but if I'm feeling cold, sad and lonely then it's a better than 1 in 7 chance that the day is a Sunday.

Okay, washing up first, je pense...

...and again!

It may be easy to get out of the blogging habit but it appears to be fairly easy to slip back into it again (rawr).

If all goes well, I may have a computer again sooner than I'd hoped, which would be very, very cool. Looking at the Last.fm widget on the left of the page, it's now been 112 days since I've had a computer of my own. Strange to think that it's been that long.

Today was a day of surprises, mostly good ones. Someone was far nicer to me than I expected and I received a very nice official document from work. It appears that I may be in this role until the end of the year. This would be exceptionally good but I'm quite prepared to have that change at short notice. It's just been good to have the opportunity to spread my wings a little bit. And I don't think that I've let myself or anyone else down.

It's been nice to come home after a day at work and just relax, having "eaten out". It's getting back towards the time of year when bed is by far the warmest place in the house so just being able to snuggle into the warmth with some music on is divine! Stone floors are all very well in the summer months but at this time of year they turn the downstairs of the house into something resembling an ice box. Which may be a blessing in disguise, given the unreliability of the fridge.

This is already as many posts in November as I managed in September and October combined. I think that maybe some kind of a dam may have burst...

Musings for Monday

I discovered something today - it is actually possible to drink too much coffee. I'm sat here at work at the end of the day and I feel quite queasy at the thought of it. This is the problem with coffee being available for free. Maybe I should switch to tea tomorrow.

I got a letter today confirming me in my interim role and explaining the benefits, the most beneficial of which is the whole "not working shifts" thing! On an equally vaguely work related note, I guess I'd better take down the Hallowe'en decorations in the room at some point over the next couple of days. There'll be Christmas ones up soon.

I'm finding it hard to believe that it's November already. It really is kinda startling how quickly this year has gone.

I get to treat my lovely lady to a bag of chips, once she's finished work and am looking forward to the chips nearly as much as her company. I actually typed "loomking" instead of "looking" there - this conjures up some kind of peculiar pagan weaving ritual which ought to be made into a cult horror movie. Or perhaps that's just the coffee OD talking again. I hope so as that might explain the pulse I can feel in my right eyelid which is freaking me out more than a little bit.

For now, I'll leave you with this thought...

Pleasures

It's very easy to get out of the blogging habit when one doesn't have regular access to a computer. I wish I could blog properly using my phone but it's a genuine pain in the posterior.

I rediscovered the pleasure in a few things today. One is being able to transfer music to my iPod. I've had a couple of CDs sitting around that I've only been able to listen to on a borrowed laptop. While it's awesomely generous of my Lady to lend me a laptop when she can, it's not a hi-fi experience for listening to music. Today I was able to find a tiny program (about the size of one 3-minute mp3 song) which allowed me to put my new albums on my iPod and properly crank them out. Lovely.

I rediscovered how relaxing it is to fuss a dog's head. I was out for a walk in the rain this afternoon and met a fairly random hound out doing much the same thing. We exchanged a couple of pleasantries and I gently held my hand out for it to sniff. Encouraged by a wag, I ruffled it's head and was rewarded with a big doggy grin. So we communed for a while. Making a new doggy friend in the rain is not the worst way to spend some of a Sunday afternoon.

On the subject of pleasures, I am thoroughly enjoying my new interim post. Like any new job it's come with occasional ups and downs but it's far more the sort of thing I'd like to be doing - and it means I'm not working silly shifts. 8.30 to 5.30 Monday to Friday suits me pretty well.

I've also had the chance to spend a lovely amount of time with the woman I love. She stayed over last weekend and it was divine just to hang out together talking, reading, laughing, loving, going for walks and cuddling. A whole treefull of birds taking off at the same time is always going to make me smile now. We went to a works quiz for Hallowe'en on Friday night, after spending the day in fancy dress at work (we were both pirates!) and spent the night at the hotel it was hosted at. We had a couple of lovely people from outside work on our team and thoroughly enjoyed the evening, not least because we won! €200 split between the four us! Our share paid for the hotel room we'd booked, which was such a good idea by the way. As was the late check-out.

Any and all time spent with her is time well spent.

So I'm back to work in the morning. Another fantastic thing about the hours is that it pretty much matches the hours that my Lady works and she's being kind enough to come and pick me up in the mornings, which means I don't have to set my alarm for silly o'clock to get a bus out to work. Even so, it's past time I turned in for the night. I'll try to make the effort to get back here again soon. G'night all.

Interim

It's still very difficult to get back here as regularly as I'd like as I still don't have a working PC in the house.

Thanks to the generous loan of a laptop for the night (mmmmwah!!) I can mention that tomorrow I start work as an Interim Training Assistant. Vair 'cited! Yes, it's a temporary position but it's still something of a big deal for me and it wouldn't have been possible without the unwavering support of a certain Lovely Lady.

Thank you, sweetie!