Five go sad in Cardiff

Meep! Its ten past ten & I have to get up early to get to work tomorrow so I'd better make this quick. Funny isn't it that my new job is nearer home but I have to get up earlier to get there? That's the joy of travelling on the bus with schoolchildren and getting caught in traffic. Oh I so love schoolkids in the morning. Screaming down my fecking ear & blowing cig smoke in my face. The little darlings.

Sooooo, Cardiff then eh? I have to point out that getting up at 5.15am should be illegal. Even if you're going somewhere exciting rather than work. I always thought I was a morning person but maybe that's shifted over the years 'cause I pretty much hate mornings these days. I'm a 'pull the duvet over my head & pretend its not happening' kind of girl now. Meh. I tried to get some sleep on the train but in the style of those kids on the Disney ad, "But mummy, we're too exciiiiited!".

Chums took the piss out of me constantly on both journeys as I insisted on paying 20p to go to the loo instead of having a free one on the train. Lets just clear this up once and for all. I'd rather pay the 20p to go to a nice clean toilet than the skanky ones that stink on the train ok? I'd also rather wee when I'm not struggling to keep my seat and my balance on a moving object.

We kept ourselves amused with idle conversation about various Gods, constructing a Big Brother scenario in which Zeus was in the diary room having a good bitch about Osiris. All while chewing on the foulest sweets I've ever tasted. Steve had brought bags of the stuff from Holland & they all tasted of licourice or menthol apart from the advocaat ones. Ewwww. Good job I had stashed some Drumstick chews in my bag.

The delightful Rob met us at the station and started us off on our tour of Dr Who locations including the slopey back alley from 'Empty Child', the department store from 'Rose' and 'The Christmas Invasion', the balcony from 'Boomtown' & 'Empty Child', the interior location of Platform 5 from 'End of the World' etc etc. We then broke for lunch at an American diner before grabbing a taxi down to the exhibition at the bay which was awash with children. Now its really lovely that Dr Who has attracted a whole new audience but did they all have to choose the same day to visit the exhibit? Hmmmph. More walking to the prom type bit & locations for 'Boomtown' before trekking all the way to Grangetown to look at suburban houses used in 'Rose' and 'Empty Child' and last but not least, the playground and church from 'Fathers Day'. By this time every muscle from my pelvis downwards was aching, particularly the muscle running up from my left ankle to my shin which I think I'd strained. We ended up limping to Boots (well, I was the one limping) for some Ibuprofen gel then spending the evening in the Wetherspoons next door. I'm such a wuss. I must start getting more excercise so I can keep up with all these athletic people who can do walking & everyfink.

I manged to get some sleep on the train back despite Steve's snoring, being generally uncomfortable, the cold carriage I tried to sleep in and on the final leg, some nutter a few seats down who kept shouting out to his imaginary friend called Chris. Which reminds me of me & my brother's mantra...

"Must learn to drive!"

Needless to say I was totally shagged out the next day. Thank god I'd booked it off to have lunch with my bessie mate. I'm not the chattiest of people anyway but that day I was a fecking zombie. Fortunately my best mate is chatty enough for the both of us. We had lunch and a bottle of wine at The Boathouse in Astley sat near some kids who were out with their dad (divorced from their mother we gathered). We were a bit miffed that there were potentially rowdy children near us but they were actually better behaved than their father!! They sat there talking quietly and politely while their dad did some bizarre impression of a kids tv presenter. We soon moved on to another pub up the road which had lovely leather, winged armchairs we could slouch in. The pot of coffee just brought me round enough to hold up my end of the conversation so I was less zombiefied and more mellow. It turned out to be one of the most idyllic, cosy winter afternoons I've had in a long while. I didn't want to leave. But eventually we did and the spell was broken. Back to the harsh cold rainy reality of February and the prospect of being back at work the next day. Work being quite the shittiest its ever been. My last day of slogging my guts out for 4 years and all I got was a fucking card. Very very poor. Even a bottle of cheap wine would've done. Practically every person when they leave gets a bit of a pressie and a presentation by their manager. My manager didn't even bother to turn up. Vague goodbyes were said but that was it. As soon as I left the building I tore the card up in disgust and threw it in the nearest bin. So much for fucking loyalty.

The final countdown

Only two more days of hell to go. Two more days of that crappy office-that-manners-forgot. Two more days of dull data inputting because that's what I've been reduced to over the last year. Hoo-fucking-rah.

Its only two days rather than four (I finish on Friday) because I've got Wednesday & Thursday off. Me & my chums are off on a day trip to Cardiff on Wednesday to check out the castle & museums & shopping and not look at all the Dr Who locations at all, no sirree. We're absolutely, positively not going to try to spot Billie & David & Russell et al filming the new series. And we're definitely not going to have lunch at a cafe used in one of last series' eps. Ahem!

On Thursday I shall be a laydee who lunches, swigging pots of tea and ramming jam & cream scones down my gullet with my bestest friend. Its a good job we're not really 'ladies who lunch' as we'd both be the size of several large houses by now. I'm already the size of a modest terrace in Wigan...

Other stuff

This week I received an invitation to my first gay wedding. Not to the ceremony itself but to the meal & drunken shenanigans straight afterwards. I've also been invited to the stag do in Blackpool. Yes I'm a girl. No I'm not having a sex change. I presume they've invited all their friends regardless of gender. I hope I'm not the only girl. Not that it usually bothers me. So why am I bothered now? *shrugs*

I've spent far too much money so far this month. Today at the GMex has been the worst but I bought a few cds last weekend too;

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead which I haven't listened to in full yet but the opening two tracks haven't grabbed me so far.

Green Day - International Superhits which I've listened to most of and loved, especially Basket Case & Warning.

Joni Mitchell - Blue which I borrowed from Bro a few years ago & liked so I bought my own copy. I've only listened to 'Carey' so far as its my favourite track on the album.

And I've borrowed a couple of Indigo Girls cds from bro er, which I haven't listened to yet. He lent me his William Shatner cd ages ago and I still haven't heard that in full, just his version of Common People. Its a case of too many cds and too little time.

So why am I still here?

*leaves*

Where was I?

Yeah, panels were sold out so I couldn't do that. There were a few guests whose autographs I wanted; Hurley from Lost, Avery Brooks (Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Brent Spiner (Data in ST: The Next Generation), Messrs Shanks & Judge from Stargate SG1 and Starbuck & Baltar from the new Battlestar Galactica series but on seeing the prices I decided that I could afford only one. So I chose the delectable Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck in BSG). She was friendly enough, said hello & asked how I was & I politely returned the questions to which she said she was good if a little tired. I wondered if I should politely point out that she should maybe fasten another button on her blouse as anyone standing over her could see right down her bra but I decided not to. Let some of the, er, less socially aware male fans get their only glimpse of girl bits outside of a porn mag, bless 'em. I trolled round all the merchandise stands 'til I made myself dizzy, stopping to buy an unusual silver & amethyst ring from a goth stall and a signed photo of Megan (Will & Grace) Mullally in full Karen Walker pose. I also took time out to take a photo of one of the Imperial Stormtroopers hanging round the lobby. I would've taken one of Darth Vader but he wandered off just as I got my phone out. Dark Lord of the Sith... camera shy?

The whole thing got boring pretty quickly so we buggered off to the pub for a pint or two then to the Armenian Taverna for tea. I'd never had Armenian food either (its been a day of firsts) but was disappointed to find that its exactly the same as Turkish but with the names spelled differently. I wouldn't say that Turkish is one of my favourite food genres. I don't know why. I don't dislike it but I'm not 100% keen on some of the flavours. Thai is best. Full of flavour but not too heavy and I love coconut & ginger & garlic. Mmmm. Best Thai I ever had was at a place in Crystal Palace but I digress. Home again at a reasonable time & I've recorded Sea of Souls so I could come on here.

*tea break*

Incoherent

I wish I didn't leave it so long between posts. Most of the time I'm lacking inspiration but when it finally hits I find I've got too much to say and I don't know where to start. Like tonight. At least I can take my time. This time of year its a bit cold sat at the computer here so I try not to take too long. We've got a little office space at the top of the stairs and it gets a tad draughty but tonight I'm wrapped in our spare duvet so I'm nice & toasty.

On checking my hotmail junk folder I was very annoyed to find an email from the agency I'm with. Um, lets call them Mepstrep *cough*. Anyway, it was a spammy sort of email regarding a job opportunity in Manchester. Now, when I visited their office last year I gave them a copy of my CV with my email addy at the top which I've heard is the thing to do these days. I assumed that it would only be used in the event of a genuine job offer eg something that had already been discussed with the Mepstrep agent. Indeed, this happened with the other agency I visited. When a job interview was arranged they asked me if I'd mind them sending details/directions etc to my Hotmail account. Not a problem.

Mepstrep evidently decided that I'd put the email addy on my CV so that they could spam me with random job opportunities. Is it me? I don't remember agreeing to that. So when I received my first spam from them I unsubscribed in a huff & assumed that I wouldn't hear from them again. Now I've got another one. There wasn't a link to unsubscribe on this one though so I sent a snotty reply back telling them to take my name off their list. I'm leaving them in a couple of weeks anyway and after that I'll never darken their doorstep again. I've not been entirely happy with them recently although this is more to do with the Manchester branch than the Warrington branch who deal with my current employers (and who seem to be pretty good).

Anyhoo. Today I've been to a Collectormania thing at the GMex in Manchester. For the uninitiated its a sort of Sci Fi convention but on a bigger scale & with the emphasis more on merchandise dealers than guests. I'd never been to one before so I didn't know quite what to expect. I paid £5 to get in which is a bargain compared to fan conventions which usually charge anything from £20 to £75 or higher depending on the size & length of the event & how many big name guests they've got. Fan conventions are usually all-in type things where you get to watch interview panels & get autographs without paying any extra. At this Collectormania thing you were charged extra for each autograph you wanted (between £15 and £30) and also had to pay for admission to the interview panels. All of the panels I was interested in were sold out.

*We interrupt this post for an M&S sticky toffee pudding break*

By jove I've got it!

I got the job! Hurrah for me! And they've offered me what I'm on now. And I won't have to pay as much for travelling to/from work. And I won't have to listen to that fucking annoying slag for much longer. They haven't given me an exact start date yet but I expect to be leaving around the end of the month. Happy happy sing and dancey!