19 August 2008 @ 11:16 pm

It's good to see how long 👁 Image
gobbusginormous's kick up the bum worked for.  ;) C'mon people! You're letting the side down.

Let's forget cliquey Facebook and assert our individual blogs!

Hit me

17 August 2008 @ 08:34 pm

I survived ..  

... working nights for a week! And funnily enough I really enjoyed it! The guys I worked with were really friendly and most of the work was waiting for the mail to come down from Fulwood sorting office and then 'laying out' which is distributing the crates of mail for a particular area onto Yorks (tall trolleys) ready for sorting. There was only a little sorting to do as most of it is done in the morning by the posties.  Night staff are only allocated city centre mail and there's not much.  The majority of mail is for the suburbs believe it or not, for all those 2.4 families with the mortgage and magazine subscriptions! Business reply was easier than I thought.  When a company take out a business reply contract they send out freepost envelopes to 'customers' and when they are posted back they are sorted, counted up and invoiced to that company.  My job was to sort and count them. 

The majority of the night was spent watching TV (I saw Michael Phelps win all his medals), snoozing and having a smoke watching the trains outside.  The delivery office is next door to the train station and at about 2am the train from Manny brings all the clubbers home! After that it's freight until about 4am, when the trains start up again.  It was really creepy watching them transport carriages through the station as they are really long passenger trains with no lights on.

Sleeping during the day was fine - I averaged about 5 hours so I was smoking a lot towards the end of the week trying to stay awake.  Coffee just wouldn't cut it.  Despite all my whining Duncan moved out on Monday so I hadn't started work then.  I do feel like I over-reacted but saying that I have been pretty anxious lately.

On Monday I'm back on delivery, up along Lightfoot Lane.  I've managed to gain back my regular sleeping pattern but my muscles are sure gonna hurt from all the carrying!

Hit me

06 August 2008 @ 09:47 pm

on a whim ...  

Third post of the day. You can tell I'm bored. 

Was trying to find interesting lives to read about through the 'random journal' facility on LJ home, but the fact is I can read about any of them because they're all Russian. I am also trying to finish Brick Lane but I've hit a narrative lull and can't seem to get back into it. When I feel a bit more dozy I'll try again. My right nipple is also really itchy.

In a bit of a whiny mood* because I made the mistake of exploring Facebook. Uh uh! Bad idea. So much so that it fuelled me to envisage a group, a wee bitty on the controversial side but I wanted to ask you lot for ideas (especially Kerry because you share the same hatred of uni as me!).  If anything is unclear or offensive, please post! And I will say it now - I don't mean us lot with this, because our relationships aren't artificial. I am sure you will know exactly what I'm talking about!

Thing is, I am thinking of leaving Facebook purely because it annoys me so much, it reminds me of school and university and of being outside the in-crowd. This group idea was created on a surge of bile that rose up in my throat through looking at groups such as 'Bowland til I die' etc, etc, etc ...**

Hit me

06 August 2008 @ 07:24 pm

nostalgia kicks  

Oh man, do you remember this?!

Hit me

06 August 2008 @ 09:57 am

the old man is snoring  

I have the day off today and it is lovely to sit here, 6 hours after I am usually up and dressed, in my nightie typing rubbish into my LJ!

I checked the week ahead weather forecast and it's rain, rain, rain, with a 60% chance of precipitation every day but one! Working outdoors makes the weather very interesting. I'm actually working nights next week so it shouldn't bother me too much. I have never worked the night shift before and I had to look up advice on staying awake and keeping on top of your 'sleep debt'.  I used to get terrible insomnia but now I think I sleep too much - or as much as I can.  I'm still afraid I'm 'missing out' on something, though what that is I don't know  (maybe I'm always asleep when it happens?).  What is certainly true is that no matter how physically exhausted I am, I will sleep.

1 bruise | Hit me

03 August 2008 @ 09:41 am

yeah don't go there  

I am fruitlessly searching for 220cm long round boot laces in purple. Is it too much to ask?! 

The thing is there's a whole punk symbolism about boot laces, that is the colour you wear tells other punks what sort of skin you are.  White laces mean you're a neo-nazi, green, fuck the police; pink, gay;  red,  looking for a fight; and purple means you're a newbie, or you just made your first cut.  Unfortunately I'm not a skinhead, and only slightly punky. I just like coloured boot laces!

I've got terrible consumerism today, I have a whole shopping list of useless things to buy (well, not useless, but things I could do without):

purple bootlaces
red shoelaces
red alice band
red hair elastics
green converse

All the red stuff is for work, to go with my uniform.  I'm personalising my postie!

5 bruises | Hit me

01 August 2008 @ 09:27 pm

dance me to the end of love  

Listening to a Leonard Cohen cover album.  It is ... interesting!

Thought I should update my literary life: in the last couple of weeks have read The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing, Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland, and Demonology by Rick Moody.  I also read two Judy Blume books (purely for curious nostalgia reasons).  When Viv and I were in Scotland we visited Gatehouse of Fleet and found the best bookshop ever in the Fleet Mill.  A huge mahoghany maze of second hand books piled up the ceiling and falling over each other.  Very atmospheric.  I bought (don't laugh) Just As Long As We're Together and Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself.  The first one is teenagey soapy bollocks but the second one is a good portrait of life in post-war Miami.  Also easy reading when your brain isn't working properly.

There may be typos all over this post but I'm not wearing my glasses so you'll have to excuse my lazy eye.

Hit me

30 July 2008 @ 07:02 pm

Celebratory noodlery  

What lacks in quality I'll make up in quantity instead.

Not that much has happened between the last post and this one, apart from a sleep-sandwich filled with work.  I did go out for a drink to ye olde Dog last night, to celebrate getting my license and Amy's birthday.  She had a pinata party on Saturday night, but her real birthday was today.  So she had two birthdays, a little like the Queen in that respect.  Got home about midnight and then had to get up at 4am, which I accomplished with nearly no whinging! Not that there would be anyone around to hear me anyway. No, I'm joking, I like getting up early when there's no-one about.  It's so quiet and the air smells fresher.  All the oxygen gets used up in the morning commute.

I also received a package from those nice people at Natural Balance Foods, who make Trek bars.  I ordered a box from their website and they sent me the wrong kind - not that I minded, they're all delicious - but I thought I'd e-mail them to let them know and they sent me a huge pretty box of free stuff with a handwritten apology! I think I will complain politely more often.

It is very humid up here in Preston, the clouds are low and dark but it's not raining. 

Hit me

29 July 2008 @ 05:42 pm

I skipped the breadline  

This won't be a long entry. I'm not very communicative these days but I'll post a few bits and bobs here and there, and maybe I can ease myself back in to being socially web-active.
I know, I know ... I failed the challenge, two days late.  This is why I shouldn't be a journalist - I have no respect for deadlines. What can I say apart from: 'I'm shit'! Though not that shit, because today I passed my driving test! Despite the fact I can't afford insurance, car tax or petrol and besides that, a car, I'm still happy. It's one more thing I don't have to invest in for the future. Instead I can spend my money on crap.

I still smoke, besides quitting a few months here and there.  I'm still cynical, because I was born that way, but I am a little less shy, because working at Preston delivery office takes some courage. (I know some of you will be saying; "shy? No way!" but I am, honest).  I am a bit richer than I was last year but still not paying off my student loan. I have a secret enjoyment in doing easy crossword puzzle books that I buy from the garage.

ahhhm uhm... what else.  Not very inspired because my brain is still frazzled and my hands are still marked by gripping the car steering wheel. We have a cat now, called Lucky, short for Lucifer (don't ask) and two weeks ago we went to see Leonard Cohen at Edinburgh Castle, via my parent's place, and I am now a big fan. Thirty years too late, of course. Funny how I'm falling in love with all these old crooners (cf Peter Gabriel and Bryan Ferry).

These first posts are always hard to right because there's so much to say you end up saying nothing at all.

7 bruises | Hit me

06 July 2008 @ 03:49 pm

Greetings and salutations  

👁 Image
👁 Image
👁 Image
👁 Image
👁 Image
👁 Image
👁 Image

For good or ill, I'm back!

2 bruises | Hit me