Rich tea

Rich tea biscuits are simply fantastic. More so when covered with Cadbury's chocolate - none of that dodgy shit from the US, I might add. Sorry chaps, but your chocolate is lacking - we all know this.

Back to the point. Oh, there wasn't one, was there?

Today was a scarf day. Cold, blustery and rainy. Perfect for wrapping up nicely and appreciating the superb job that a scarf can do on days like these.

Suffice to say, I managed to leave the house without one of my many, many scarves.

I spent the walk to and from work audibly shivering and making odd noises to try and warm myself up. Without much success.

As a result, I shall be sleeping in track pants again - it's ruddy cold out.

Away

So out and about in Liverpool at the moment.

Hunting penguins.

Long story, but totally relevant. Pictures to prove it as well, but not until I am back at my own laptop. Currently using a pink netbook.

And I secretly love it.

Hard to explain

This is the bit about exams I hate the most - right after it.

Logically, there's nowt I can do about it at all. I accept that fact. But I still can't help but be confused by myself. 

I read the questions, decided what to do out of the options and cracked on. Section A, okay. Section B, well, only 5 marks I was really not sure on, but always hard to say. Section C, first part fine, second part took me by surprise and I started worrying a bit. 

Then you do that mental "how many marks do I think I have" and always end up just around the pass mark in your head. 

Never ever do this. 

Solution

Is it fundamentally okay to be revising (or rather 'vising') for an exam on the day, merely hours before the paper begins? 

This is something I have always done, but this time around, I am not cramming as such (just reading some bits and trying some mnemonics). I have a very odd feeling and I feel nervous about that feeling now I think about it.

I've done a reasonable amount of preparation this time around (more so than for other papers) and yesterday, I simply hit a wall at 7pm. I decided that I couldn't do any more revision - nothing else was going in and that was that.

Oddly, I felt comfortable. Naturally, I am now worried that I don't know enough. Put simply: no pass, means no job. I will be out of employment if I don't pass. On the flip side, a pass means a £3k payrise.

Oh, perhaps that's the reason for nerves then.

Fragile

Irony, isn't it, that when the toilet seat is broken, my body decides it is where I need to go at least once every two hours.

Though it could be something to do with exam nerves tomorrow.

I hate exams.

My work here is done

A quick update on the last post.

One of my housemates is back home after four days away. Less than a minute getting in, I hear the bathroom door shut.

"Snap!"

There goes the toilet seat 'breaking'. I hope she's not paranoid ... he he!

While I remember

Okay, so the last few days, nobody has been home at all. I live in a shared house, so it's nice having nobody in from time to time.

However, earlier today, I was doing 'my thing' in the bathroom and I hear an almighty crack. 'What the fuck was that?' Then it dawns on me.

The toilet seat just snapped.

To be fair, I'm not that heavy - the seat has been at a funny angle for a while. Just to make sure, I weighed myself afterwards - lighter than I've been for a good while, so it's reassuring to know it's not me that is directly responsible.

In the meantime, I 'fixed' the seat to make it look normal and un-broken. That way, the next person to sit down is going to feel guilty and fat when the seat 'snaps'.

I'm pretty mean, eh?

Ghosts of feline past

I am a cat person.

Don't get me wrong, I think dogs are awesome, but cats are my first choice. Mainly because I grew up with many cats over the years (at one point we had four adult cats, while another was 2 adult and 4 kittens), but mostly because they are pretty independent and self sufficient.

Like me, I might add.

Anyhow, we begin tales of the past with 'my' second cat - Billie. She was put to sleep a few years ago because of a cancerous growth, but don't let that fool you - she was a complete nutter and was the ripe age of 16 when she died (out-living her son of 15 when he died). For nearly all of those 16 years, she was a strange cat. Very affectionate and loving, but mostly a chatter-box. You could talk to her and she would miaow back. 

In more than one incident, I can confirm that she was quite content with the fumes of some fine green weed, but let's keep that to ourselves.

Her crowning glory was being seen to drag a wet newspaper up the hill into the front garden. This was in the same week she bought home a Tampax box (empty). She was docile, but would randomly murder. Her notable achievements include two squirrels in one day, one of the largest wood pigeons you've ever seen and an uncanny ability to make frogs squeal.

When she was only a year old, she had kittens. Four of them. We kept the 'runt' and gave the others away. The run was her son (Reggie - for another post), who out-grew her very quickly indeed.

Enough chatter  though - let's have some images!

Epic close-up shot on 35mm film when she was about 12 years old

Asleep on the sofa with the son. Billie is darker and smaller. Note the awesome newspaper headline

Rolling in the patio dirt.

Playing with a snail, aged 15.

Doing what cats do best - sleeping in dumb positions.

Catching up

Work is somewhat ... busy. 

As understatements go, that opening line is up there with the best. My line manager has left the company. My new manager is still working in Belgium with his last job (and is Italian with the longest surname in the world), and I have to submit 2010 budgets all by myself.

Put it this way: I get stuck forecasting and entering data for £8,000,000 worth of marketing activities, as well as headcount and manpower costs. Oh, and factor in that there are structure changes in the business for a few months of 2010, so I have to forecast the year as 2/12 and then again as 10/12 when the changes are deemed to have taken place. Don't forget to factor in inflation too.

Did I also mention that the files I am meant to use to 'help' are nonsense? Not to mention the budgeting system is pig slow.

Oh and I have an exam next week. Sigh. I need to stop for a few minutes and unwind. But I can't, knowing that an exam is looming. 

That day off tomorrow for revision looks unlikely now - minimum half day required to finish at work. Rubbish.

Zoom!

Everything.

Is.

Hectic.

Back soon.