Disappointing news, other people’s dogs, and bonding

Ok, let’s get the horrible part over with first. I didn’t get the job. And yes, I am very disappointed and am trying to look at it in a positive way in that something better is obviously out there waiting for me to snap it up. It’s not even so much not getting that particular job that bothers me because it wasn’t a really challenging role even. It’s the prospect of actually being out of work for any length of time,. Because too much of my own company sends me crazy, as does idleness and not stretching myself and so I am not looking forward to finishing my job in two weeks time and spending all my time on the net applying for jobs and graduate schemes. As far as the company I’m working for at the moment goes, the team I’m working with are great, but there is a lot of hidden burocracy and under cover agendas within the business, as well as the fact that some one I have to work closely with and who is higher up than me likes to play dirty and doubtless had a hand in the decision making about the job.

Anyway, enough of that, positivity is the way forward. I will get a job, I will get a job, I will get a job!!!

Wednesday evening was eventful, only in that DT was coming round for dinner on the Thursday and I’d decided to make curry. I knew I wouldn’t get in until later than usual because of the interview so I decided to make the currey the night before and keep it in the fridge so that all I’d have to do was to make the rice and heat everything through. So on Wednesday I tidied the flat, put my suit in the wash and set about cooking the currey. Everything was going fine until I left the currey on the hob and went to get my suit out of the machine, only to discover that something in there had fucking ripped all the lining in the jacket. I stood there having a minor panic attack and examining the damage, as well as checking the outside to see whether it was wearable. That was when the currey started to burn. Thankfully the suit was wearable, I’m just going to have to have the lining restitched, and I saved the currey which turned out to be one of the best I’ve ever made.

So DT arrived for dinner with lots of wine, and spent time having a good look around the flat while I finished the cooking. We also had a giggle about the dirty weekend she’s going away on, even though she tried to pretend it wasn’t a dirty weekend, and I told her about the party I’m going to in a few weeks, which she got very excited about. After dinner we spent a while examining outfits I’m thinking of wearing and deciding which would look more sexy and sophisticated, and discussing the DL situation, which in a nutshell is that we’re trying to be friends which is proving to be difficult because she’s still very much not over the break up. By the time she left we’d had rather a lot of wine and I was past being tipsy.

Friday I took the day off work and my friend R came down from Sheffield for the weekend. I was really looking forward to her visit but a little nervous as we’ve not really spent much time together outside a group setting apart from going for the odd drink before, and I wanted to make sure she had a good time. Anyway as I’m sure she’ll agree it was great, we talked for England, went for food on the Friday night with Baby G and another friend and got slightly tipsy, and on the Saturday we went to Hammersmith to do some shopping and ended up sitting outside a pub for three hours chatting a drinking pins. That evening we were both shattered so I cooked chilli and we hired a movie and had some wine. On Sunday we made lunch and took it and the dog to the Heath with DL, and although it was colder than the day before the sun managed to poke its head out of the clouds long enough for us to eat and then lie on the grass for a while while Una roamed around and fraternised with her fellow canines. She was a little apprehensive at first though because when we’d taken her to the park the day before, a man’s husky had gone for her and although it didn’t manage to bite her properly I think it scared Una and she stuck pretty close to me for a while. We dropped R back at the train station in the afternoon and I have to say it was a lovely weekend and I feel like I’ve gotten to know her lots better than I did. We’re very similar in many respects and she’s very easy company and a good conversationalist, plus she makes me laugh.

This afternoon my friend Kim is in town and we're having lunch and spending the afternoon together, and the rest of the week looks busy too. I'll write again at the weekend.

Connected

Finally finally, I’m up and running in my own place with a phone line, the internet and cable TV, what more technology could I ask for? And that’s not to mention the wonderful gadgets hidden under my bed haha. Actually on that note I had an embarrassing moment yesterday when the man from virgin media who came to install everything asked if he could pull my bed out from it’s place to get to a socket. The night before I’d had a session with Jessica rabbit and in post orgasm sleepy numbness I just slid the toy in to the bag and didn’t really bother about making sure it was closed properly. So when he asked to move my bed, I had an image of either him crunching my beloved toys under the bed legs, or knocking the bag over so that everything spilled out. Thankfully none of the above happened and my blushes were spared.

So anyway, about the new place. It’s lovely and especially amazing for the rent I’m paying. It’s a studio flat in a large building, I’m on the top floor, the pluses being I have two big sky lights that let in lots of naturally light and the beautiful sunshine, but I also get the heat that rises up from the other flats in the building and so I’m boiling and having the fan on and the windows wide open isn’t doing much to help disperse the heat. It’s reasonably large for a studio, with a separate spacious kitchen and bathroom, and oh the joy of being able to cook what I want when I want, or not having to wait for some one to get out of the shower, or going in to the loo and inhaling the smell of some one’s poo! Oh it’s heaven! I also have a lovely new bed which after sleeping on the blow up mattress at O’s house for weeks on end is heaven in itself and I haven’t been wanting to get up in the mornings, but that’s nothing unusual really. So anyway, I’m now in West London which is funnily enough where I wanted to end up, and the area is lovely and from what I can gather it’s safe and quiet and that’s something for London. As I sit writing I can hear the bustle of the traffic as usual, but also the chirp of a bird somewhere on the roof top, and it’s such a lovely sound. I’ve found myself craving clean air, open space and tranquillity more and more these days. That’s not to say that I don’t love London, quite the opposite, I love it, but it is nice to find little pockets of natural beauty among the hustle and bustle. I’ve been taking the dog to the Heath and spending hours just walking around and letting her swim about in the ponds and pools there while kids chase each other and couples stroll past. Plus it’s obviously very gay around there, and I’ve yet to go to the women’s pond which I’m dying to do but I usually have the dog in toe so haven’t been as yet.

Last weekend my dad visited which was lovely. I find it really amusing that he comments on so much of London life that has become the norm to me now, like how people blast there horns at other cars for apparently no reason at all, and the random and often bizarre things you see while driving through the city, plus he keeps trying to imitate what he calls a cockney accent which is hilarious given his northern ness.

Getting around has been a total nightmare this week, and so far I haven’t been anywhere other than to work and that was a struggle. The tubes are on strike due to something about pay or pensions and the like, which means that those of us that want to go anywhere have found it extremely fucking difficult. Yesterday I was three hours late for work along with everyone else in the capital I think, and today I arrived two hours late, and of course had to stay longer and make up the time. Plus I’ve missed out on going to two gay groups this week, and I didn’t go last week because I was moving house so I’m not a happy bunny about the whole thing. It’s supposed to be getting resolved though and they tell us it should be back to normal by tomorrow, which I hope is true. Tomorrow night it’s the reopening of the Glassbar, a women only venue near Euston which I’m going to try and go to as I think it’s important to support anyone who tries to create a women’s only space in the community, and at the weekend my friend Simon is in town so I’m going to meet up with him for a bit and spend some time together before he jets off to Paris to live.

So on the domestic front all is well. I should also mention that I’ve gotten through to the final stage of interviews for a job I’m applying for which takes place next week and which I’m extremely nervous about. Quite honestly I don’t think I’ll get the position because I know they’re looking for some one with more experience, but if I did get it it would mean A security, and B a lot more money which of course is important if I want to go about starting my own business eventually. The only thing that isn’t going very well at the moment is my love life, and I’m finding that I’m growing tired of being completely single. That’s not to say I want a full on relationship because I don’t, but it would certainly be nice to date some one fairly regularly, go out for dinner and to the theatre and the like, and of course the physical side of things too. I’m starting to miss having some one to share things with and cuddle up too, get excited about seeing and look forward to spending time with. And I know I should stop looking because that’s usually when people tend to come along, so I’m trying not to think about it too much. Una is also a bit pissed off with me because since I’ve moved and had a new bed, I’ve enforced a “dog’s not allowed on beds” rule, which she is trying her best to ignore. I have to keep waking up in the night to mutter “get down!” As she tries to creep up when I’m asleep. So she’s banished to the sofa which I’m going to start weaning her off, as soon as I get a new one, so I’m not her favourite person at the moment. She also totally embarrassed me on our first day living here. I could tell she was anxious and was wondering what the hell was going on, and the first thing that tends to show signs of any distress she’s in is her stomach. So yeah, you probably guessed it, when walking down the stairs to get to the ground floor she decided to stop and do a great big poo right there and then, and some one else was coming down the stairs behind us, and oh my God how I hate animals sometimes. Thankfully she’s not done it since, I think it was nerves because she’s of course extremely well house trained, little monkey. She’s also causing great amusement in the office because her latest favourite position is to lie in the middle of the floor on her back with her legs spread wide open and a rope toy between her paws which she chews. It looks very cute but very undignified, and everyone that walks past calls her a tart or a hussy or a slapper or something like that. Bless her.

I need to sort out some travel plans now that I’m settled in my new home, haha listen to me, how contradictory, but seriously I feel like I’ve not had a holiday for ages. And really I haven’t, I went to America in March and that was a very active trip, not so much a sun and sea holiday which is what I’m in need of right now. When I complained about it the other day DL made noises about also needing a break away, but I’m not sure that us going away together is a good idea, I don’t think we’re quite at that stage just yet, and I think that if we did go away we’d probably fall back in to the couple routine which is definitely not a good idea.

I’m going to finish with the lyrics to a song by the Amateur Transplants, if you’ve not heard of them you should look them up because a lot of their stuff is very good. Anyway this one is entitled London Underground, and it just about sums it up this week…

Some people might like to get a train to work
Or drive in in a Beamer or a merc,
Some guys like to travel in by bus,
But I can't be bothered with the fuss
Today I'm going to take my bike,
Coz once again the Tube's on strike.
The greedy bastards want extra pay
for sitting on their arse all day
even though they earn 30K .
So I'm standing here in the pouring rain,
Where the fuck's my fucking train?

London Underground
London Underground
They're all lazy fucking useless cunts
London Underground
London Underground
They're all greedy cunts I want to shoot them all with a rifle.

All they say is "Please mind the doors",
and they learned that on the two day course,
This job could be done by a four year old.
They just leave us freezing in the cold.
What you smell is what you get
Burger King and piss and sweat
You roast to death in the boiling heat,
With tourists treading on your feet
and chewing gum on every seat,
so don't tell me to "Mind the gap"
I want my fucking money back.

London Underground
London Underground
They're all lazy fucking useless cunts
London Underground
London Underground
They're all greedy cunts I want to shoot them all with a rifle

The floors are sticky and the seats are damp,
Every platform has a fucking tramp,
But the drivers get the day off when
we're all late for work again,

London Underground
London Underground
WaWa Wankers , They're all Wankers ,
London Underground
London Underground
Take your Oystercard, and shove it up your arsehole.

It’s true what they say about the older you get, the quicker the time goes, I’m losing track of days
Can’t even remember Tuesday hardly. DL didn’t have to go in to work, so she took the dog to be cut and I did some work. We didn’t end up going to the LGB
because we were both shattered, so curled up in bed for cuddles and to watch an episode of series two of 24, which was lovely. Yesterday I had a very productive
day. DL got up early and went to work at a local high school, and called me up on the way sounding very stressed and upset because she’d gotten lost and
was running late. I tried to calm her down, and then when I got off the phone, got up and had breakfast before going off to lectures. I’m really pleased
actually, because when DL wasn’t at work, she would meet me from lectures and often drop me off at uni in the car to save me taking the bus, so I haven’t
done it for a while, and so yesterday I was pretty nervous. Everything went fine though, both yesterday and today, with no problems at all so it’s all
good!

Anyway, after uni ended I came back home and fussed the dog, and then set about cleaning up the place. The dog makes so much mess, and I’ll really have
to get used to keeping on top of the cleaning when I get my guide dog, because it’s like as soon as you’ve mopped the floor, he’ll come in from his walk
and leave prints and make the place smell, so I’m constantly spraying air freshener and there’s a towel at the door for when he’s been for a walk. Anyway,
did the washing up, and kept getting interrupted by the phone ringing, although one call was from my lady ringing in her lunch hour, so that was lovely.
We had another call from a school wanting DL to cover next week as they were short staffed, but it turns out she can’t do it because something better came
along. While we were chatting on the phone she told me that a school have asked the agency she’s with to put a candidate forward to work full time with
special needs kids for the rest of the academic year, and they’ve put her forward. So she’s got to go for an assessment tomorrow, and if she gets it she’ll
have a permanent position until July, which is wonderful. It’s either all or nothing though! Anyway, I digress…

After washing up, I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, and then hoovered and mopped everywhere, the dog following me constantly. At one point, I was busy
and he took advantage of that and jumped up to lie on the sofa, which was where I found him several minutes later. Little sod! HE knows he’s not allowed,
but does the whole, “I’m a cute puppy let me stay here,” kind of thing, which of course, doesn’t work with me lol. Yeah right! After I finished cleaning
I settled down to work, but got extremely pissed off as the computer crashed and I lost the improvements to my essay I’d made, and so left it for a while.

When DL got back from work, we took the dog to a park a little way away, which has a children’s play area and a stream and a water fall. It’s really pretty
and the dog enjoyed himself while we walked around holding hands and enjoying the somewhat chilly afternoon. Spent most of the evening working again, and
we showered together and settled down at around eleven thirty.

Today I’ve been to uni again, but missed the first lecture because I was so tired. When DL wakes up to go to work I’m woken too and find it difficult to
get back to sleep, so need to catch up over the weekend. Don’t think we’re going out tonight, we’re being really antisocial this week because we’re both
busy, so apologies to any friends reading this that wonder where we’ve disappeared too. Anyway, I’m going to finish here, because I’ve just heard the car
pull up outside, which means she’s back, and I want cuddles!

Bloody live journal!
, I’m annoyed, I just wrote an entire post and it disappeared without actually posting, and I didn’t do anything wrong!

Anyway, I’ll write it all again…

Sorry I’ve been lame and not posted for a few days, the weekend has gone nowhere. Friday was spent shopping for new clothes, which I couldn’t find, and
then in the evening DL and I went to Climax, the uni’s gay night, with friends. Had a good time, although I remained sober because I had work to do on
Saturday, but we got hot dogs on the way home which made up for the lack of alcohol.

Saturday, we woke late and I worked most of the day on uni stuff. Then in the evening, I cooked a romantic meal for us both, which consisted of thai chicken,
which is chicken marinaded in lemon and lime juice, garlic, chilli, spring onions, ginger, and lemon grass, coated with sesame seeds, and served with rice
and Chinese vegetables. This was followed by home made cinnamon and apple crumble with icecream, which went down a treat. After we ate, we intended to
settle down and watch a film, but ended up in bed having red hot sex, until the early hours, and the film was long forgotten.

Sunday, woke up at eleven, did my shift, then dad arrived at five with the dog in toe. He still hadn’t gotten around to having the dog’s hair cut, so he
was all long and soft and curly, and DL took him to get trimmed today while I was at uni, and he looks soooooooo cute. Sunday evening we took my dad to
a Chinese buffet restaurant in town, which he loves, he’s as mad about Chinese food as we are so it went down well. Then we came back here, too full of
food to go to the pub and have drinks, and played a dvd quiz game, of which I came a poor last, and after watching trashy tv, we went to bed.

On Monday morning, DL got her first call from the agency she’s now working with, to go to a primary school about fifteen miles away, so she was up bright
and early, and when she gets up I find it difficult to sleep without her, so we were both awake from around seven. I got up and made her a packed lunch,
while she got dressed and got directions off the internet. She was so nervous bless her, but I tried to calm her as much as I could, because I knew she’d
be fine. We kept in touch through text messages during the day, and she really enjoyed being at the school. Dad ended up staying until around five, because
I was alone, so while I was at uni in the afternoon, we mooched around not doing a lot, but said he just enjoyed spending time here, so I didn’t feel so
bad. Then DL got home and told us all about her day, and after that he left. He really didn’t wanna leave the dog here for the week, said he would be lonely
without him, but he’s two weeks overdue his stay, so we insisted that we kept him. Worked until late last night, and got up early again this morning, DL
didn’t have to go to work though. Tomorrow DL is going to a high school all day, and I have uni and work to do, and the dog for company. He’s now snoring
away in his bed, bless him, I have my two favourite people in the whole world in one room, it can’t be bad!

Oh, and I also got a call from one of the organisations I'm hoping to travel to Africa with, and they think it best I travel to Cape Town to teach. Anyone
ever been?

I'm wicked and I'm lazy!
Gotta get my ass in gear!

Wow, i've been such a bum for the last couple of days, it's untrue. Didn't go in to uni on Monday, I had the notes for the lecture and so decided to give
it a miss. Was a very naughty girl and lazed around for most of the day, watching episodes of 24, which we're addicted too, having incredible sex, and
reading trashy fiction. It was wonderful!!! I need more days like that!

Yesterday I went in to uni in the morning and then to the gym in the afternoon. Did a good, hard work out, changing my programme slightly to include more
weight machines, and now my muscles are screaming every time I move. I'll get used to it, I'm planning on going again tomorrow, I feel great. And I've
lost more weight, which has given me a boost, and it doesn't seem to be coming off my breasts which is great! Last night I cooked dinner for once, taking
a break from work, and then DL made pancakes for pudding, very naughty and unhealthy I know, but come on, it was Shrove Tuesday! Anyway they were lovely!
We should have been going out last night, but we ended up being late, and so decided not to go. I read some more trashy novel, and then we watched more
24 before cuddling up to go to sleep.

Today, my dad's been visiting with my lil pooch, which was wonderful. He's so easy going and we get along great, and I miss my hound terribly so it was
lovely to see him and have him trotting along behind me when I moved around. Bless him, little love! Don't intend on doing a lot tonight, although from
tomorrow I really have to get back in to work mode. This is so unlike, me, I usually switch to work mode on a Monday and switch back to relaxing at the
weekend, but this week it just hasn't happened, and I'm starting to feel slightly guilty now. I've just looked at all my essay deadlines and project work
that has to be done by the end of the semester, and I just know I'm gonna be run off my feet in a few weeks time. American Pie The Wedding has just started
on tv, so I'm going to watch it.