7 things about me

I've been tagged by one of my former students to list 7 things about myself so here goes...

1) I wanted to join the army when I, 3 weeks before the final tests and confirmation that I could join the infantry, broke my knee skiing so had to reconsider what to do after high school - I went to the US as an au-pair instead.

2) I actually liked most of the food that was served in high school, and I am picky.

3) I had a bit of an eating-issue when I was 22.5 years old. I weighed 48kg in June-01 and despite knowing that I was ill and how tired and listless I was at my worst, I sometimes wish I was 'there' again. Am also frightened to fall back into that trap again so I am not allowed to own a set of bathroom scales - I also eat more than I should, damn that co-living trap.

4) Sometimes I use youtube to listen to my secret pleasures that make me really happy. One of those ridiculous songs is 'The Ding Dong Song' By Gunther and the Sunshine Girls. (Saddo)

5) I would soooo have sex with Sandra Bullock if the opportunity arose. I am straight as a laser beam but sometimes those beams bend for the right person.*

6) I sometimes think about the stuff I'd do if Boyfriend did the nasty on me and I fear I may be a horrible person and the worst part is .... I think I would be a bit disappointed if I never got to do the whole revenge thing.

7) As of 25 minutes ago, I cannot stop thinking about fresh pineapple. The sweet and tangy juiciness in slice after slice after slice.

I won't tag anyone specifically, please tag yourselves if you fancy it.

*and obviously she'd need to be in on it too so not very likely but still...

Just Stuff

I had my hair cut today as it was getting increasingly difficult seeing through the long fringe albeit thin and whispy. It turned out really nice so I am happy with it. I also bought a really nice stylish black cardigan that'll keep me warm over the coming winter months. As the store where I got the cardigan is right next to the store where I, undoubtedly, spend most of my money I had to have a look around and sure enough - I came out with 3 new books. Oh well, it'll keep me for a week or so.

I am quite keen to get a house so I can get all my books in bookcases and not keep them in hiding under the bed where I can't be bothered rooting around and read them over and over again. Not only do I love seeing my books it also makes it a bit cheaper as I have in the past bought duplicates a couple of times. It doesn't matter but it'd be nice to use that money for new books instead.

Boyfriend/Fiancé is practising with The Band (!) as they've got a gig coming up. I guess I'll have to go as the supportive girlfriend/fiancée I am. I'll enjoy it, I'm sure as they're a lot better than their last gig - new drummer and new songs so it'll be good.

I LOVE being off work. It's the best thing ever! If I could get paid to do this all the time, I would (obviously not through being in the dole or on benefits...)

Cool Kitty-Cat

I was sneaking a peek at the Telegraph's website during work today and found this article about a cat catching the bus every day for a ride. It's really sweet and it made my day a lot better!

You can read the article here.

Let's all say it together now; Awwwww!

Useless Fact of the Day

Today I was bored 2.37 times / 15 minutes

That's quite a lot!

In Which People Suck

Why oh WHY
are dumbass people in charge
of things they have
no
knowledge of?!

I was this close
[-------]
to telling her
where to stick her job
&
her worthless existence
but
managed to bite my tongue.
I need this job.
For now
...

In Which It Is Spring

I found this picture in my local newspaper (Sweden). They've started to let the cows out and being a farmer's daughter it brings fond memories when we had cows and it was time to let ours out. They went absolutely crazy, and who wouldn't after spending all winter inside?

Isn't she gorgeous??

And as for myself. This is exactly the kind of leap I had the urge to do when at work a couple of days ago. The only difference is that mine would have been out the window. But what the heck - it's springtime and it is a lovely time to be me so I'll stick around for a wee bit longer as it is only work that sucks. The rest is frighteningly good. *cow jump*

You'll never hear me say it again!

The weekend is [almost] over and it's time to go back to work. I think that what I am about to say is due to the fact that I am clearly deranged and slightly more crazy than normally but I'm actually looking forward to going back to work.

It won't last though - I bet that I'll want to go home at about 10-ish. But for now I am tired of sitting at home. I only hope that the last 'souvenir' after the flu, the cough, will bugger off as well. Nasty thing that won't stop. I guess it's ok as long as I don't talk too much (Boyfriend is very happy) but as my job can be described by one thing and one thing only - telephone -I'm anticipating lots of coughing.

Oh well, it beats watching daytime telly.

I've had a lovely day today, btw!

In Which There's a 2nd Coming

No, Jesus is not back - as far as I know- but then I don't suppose I'm on his mailing list either so wouldn't be the first to know. Miss E's coming to town!!

Miss E was one of the girls I came to the UK with and I may have moved across but Miss E has not been back to this particular city since December -00. She won't get here until next Friday so I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here but we'll go shopping and do all kinds of stuff. It'll be great.

This city has changed so much since -00 and as I've seen those changes bit by bit, I probably don't "see" it. If you know what I mean. But the city isn't the only thing that's changed - so have I. I'm a bit softer*, nicer and ... older. There won't be any staying out all night with strange boys and coming back to the flat for a telling off by the other girls. And it's not because I'm with Boyfriend - it'd most likely be borderline creepy if I did - I'm a woman in her 30's now. It'd would be wrong to hook up with a not yet 19 year old... Christ almighty. I am old!

Oh well, that's what youth is for and the rest of the life is to look back and either go "Awwww" or "Eeeewww". I'm not sure what Uni here is for Miss E though but I am definitely hoping this time it'll be "Awww". And how can it not be? We're older, got better taste in a lot of things and as we're working we can spend loads more money on shopping without having to live on noodles and water for the rest of the month. Yeah, growing older is gooooooood!



*Not just in temper but also in body. Yuck.

In Which I Despair

The following conversation took place at work today - I must admit I did not hear the beginning properly hence the blank bits but the 'fun' (?) part came later.

S: "...I've been asked to be a Godmother..."
M: "...christening..."
S: "...yes..."
M: " ...it won't be in a church cos they're not Christians."
Me: "sorry? They're not Christians?!"
S:.......
M: "They're not Christian, they're Catholics.
Me:"yeah, they're Christians"
M:*snottily* "It's not a christening, they're C a t h o l i c s so it won't be in a Christian church."
Me:"Call it baptism, christening - not all that different, really. Catholics are Christians!"
M: "No. Protestants are Christians."
Me: Are you joking?! Catholicism is built on Christianity. Their whole faith is based on Jesus Christ, Son of God. They're Christians."
M: "No. They're not Church of England
Bubbles: "OF COURSE THEY ARE CHRISTIANS! All of England used to be Catholic but it all changed when Henry VIII......."
M: "Oh"
Me: *muttering* "What the fuck did you think they were? So stupid."

I just can't believe it. Fair enough if you don't know the tiny details of each religion or faith but for fucks sake!!

UPDATE: I know I should let it go but there's one thing that's been bugging me. The stupid girl argued with me about something I studied at Uni and I taught it at high school (miss my students). I can't vouch for the quality of my teaching but I'd fucking D I E if my students failed to pinpoint Catholicism as a Christian faith. It really vexes me.

humorlösa chefer...

There's a good reason as to why the rest of this post will be in Swedish. Sorry about that but that's the way it'll have to be...

Jag och en kille på jobbet har ganska så lik humor så vi har rätt roligt när vi traffas. Nu jobbar vi inte alltid på samma ställe men iaf. Idag så skickade jag ett mail till honom där jag på skämt skrev att jag skulle säga upp mig om jag inte fick ledigt nästa jul.

OBS! det var ett skämt som var baserat på att jag tycker semesterplaneringen på mitt jobb suger. Detta hade man forstått om man sett den lille smajlisen som efterföljde kommentaren.

Vad händer då?? Jo, jag blir inkallad till mina 2 (!) chefer där jag måste förklara varför jag skrev som jag skrev! Jag visste inte om jag skulle skratta eller gråta när de sa att jag "minsann inte gjorde det lättare for mig själv genom att skriva så!"

Vilket jävla skämt! De är helt sanslösa! Eftersom de nu läser min mail, vill jag inte försätta mig själv än mer i klistret genom att skriva det på engelska här - precis så paranoid är jag just nu - för vem vet vad mer de läser och då ska de iaf ha besväret med att få det översatt...

*alla svordomar som finns + några till*

There's always a silverlining...

I stepped in dog poo on my way home from work. How much do I hate dog-owners who don't poop-a-scoop after their dogs?!

Let me tell you: L O A D S! Enough to want to force feed them what they leave behind. That's how much I hate them.

Luckily it must have been a little dog and not an elephant or I would have been up to my neck in shit.

I Only Fake O's...

Had a strange and very un-funny night mixed with temperature falling and rising in a very disturbing manner. Also woke up at about 6-ish and sneezed violently a couple of times whereupon I felt a "tear" in my throat and a horribly tasting liquid ran down my throat.

Yep - must have had an abscess at the back of my throat that burst from the sneezing. I've had one before but then I didn't know what it was (I just knew I felt like dying) and ended up in hospital for 4 days. It's a horrible thing to have but it's good that it burst - I don't want to risk ending up in a hospital here as that would surely kill me.

Anyway, this meant I called in sick, again, and I think I won't bother having a day off sick ever again, I'll just go in and infect everyone else. They make you feel as if you're making it up and the feeling of accusation isn't the best thing when you're already weak from illness, temperature etc. I was about this close (----) to crying and admitting to be as fit as a fiddle and that I'd just made it all up because it sooo much fun having an abscess. It's also great fun feeling too weak to have a shower in fear of fainting and hitting my head and diiiie.

Listen, If I was making it up I would have had a long shower in which I would have taken the time to shave my legs but instead I'm looking like werewolf with dirty hair. I'm actually enjoying work at the moment and I really, really would have preferred not to have tasted the yucky stuff that was in the abscess. So please, please don't make me feel bad for being ill. It's not like I did it on purpose.

Not Too Good Right Now

I woke up feeling as if I'd tried to swallow a golf ball and it getting stuck in my throat, which isn't a very pleasant feeling. And adding that to the fact that I spent yesterday afternoon feeling feverish and not really with it - I decided to stay home for today.

It probably would have been easier to just go in, faint and be sent home than phoning in. Phoning to the actual team I work with wasn't difficult (they saw how I was yesterday) but to the sickness-manager... Jeez, it was like the Spanish Inquisition, which I wasn't prepared for (I'd just got out of bed). He probably though I was faking it, which I am not - I need the money and as I've been employed for less than 6 months I don't get any pay whatsoever when I'm ill.

Anyway, am trying to find an entry on perezhilton.com that I read/listened to a while ago. It was a really lovely song... but it's literally a needle in a haystack among all the crap about various celebs' eating-/cheating- and all other disorders known to man.

A little bit of this...

I took calls on my own today and did really well - I only had to ask Buddy for help on a few occasions. But - I also took a call from a lady who just wouldn't stop talking! I found out loads about her and felt like requesting an invite to her wedding before hanging up. Geez lady, I just look up security information on the system. I am not a wedding planner!

On another note;

Sacrebleu is an old French profanity, meant as a cry of surprise or anger. It would be equivalent to gosh, by Jove or stone the crows.

'Stone the crows' - I won't rest until I've come across a situation where I can use that particular phrase. Brilliant albeit useless!

Time to Resign?

I was formally employed by the company on the 3rd of December last year. Last week I was asked to let them know about any specific dates I would like for my holiday and I said - Christmas. I was then told that it looked to be ok as not all the holiday-positions for next Christmas had been filled. I though "great". This is not saying that Christmas at Boyfriend was bad in any shape, size or form but it wasn't with my family (and I don't like the plastic x-mas tree at all).

Today I was told that it is unlikely that I will get Christmas off as 1) everyone was asked to fill in their leave-requests in September (way before I was employed) and 2) a person with seniority had requested leave after me which automatically put him/her ahead of me.

"Maybe I could take another week off, perhaps?"

Well, the point was that I want to spend Christmas with my family in Sweden and Christmas is likely to be the only time we all can get together. And I do understand that they have a system based on seniority but it basically means that I'll probably never be able to go home for Christmas if someone more senior to me (and let's face it - almost all of them are getting on a bit) all of a sudden wants to have Christmas off even if it's less than 3 weeks before said holiday. That's just not fair.

And to make matters worse - this was one of the things I specifically asked about at the interview as I explained that I can't go home for a day or two and be expected back at work for the 3rd day. And the lady interviewing me said that they always had consideration for employees who are foreign and when holidays are coming up.

Yeah right! So I guess I'll never spend another Christmas with my family then. Isn't that just fantastic news to get at the beginning of the year especially as the few days before Christmas was mind-numbingly slow. The amount of work we "got in" could have been sorted in less than 2 hours. So I don't buy the argument that only 2 people of the team can be off during Christmas.

Like I said - Christmas with Boyfriend's family was ok but I am NOT doing it 2 years running. I'll pull a sickie of I have to!

Senior Moments - All Day Long

I'm so not cut out for this job...

2 hours into the day, my Buddy asks me how I spell my last name. I go "eh. wait! I think... Oh, I know it so well..." This remarkably intelligent response is greeted with questioning look whereupn I think "Fuuuuuuck. Didn't even get that one right!"

Last hour of day - I'm to answer my own calls with Buddy listening in and ready to help if needed. Poor girl, she didn't know what sort of new co-worker she's been placed with. We sat and waited for a while and suddenly there was a "Beep Beep", which means a call has been put through. And I go:

"..................!"

Buddy frantically mouthed the greeting phrase but there were no wires connected in my brain today and so I giggled a little before I got my composure back and finally.... "Xxxx Xxx. Ems Speaking. How may I help?"

And from there on I clung on to Buddy like a love sick un-neutered dog hangs on for dear life to a suitable leg. I don't ever want to sit more than 2 feet away from Buddy.

Maybe it'll help if I pretend to be a really cool, confident performer with a headset? Who shall I pretend to be? Since I'm already displaying Alzheimer's Light, I might as well continue on the oldie parade; "That Liberace is a good looking fellow. So manly and sexy and all...."

A Bit Too Vocal

I sat in the training room today for the last time (YEAY!) and we were doing some seriously boring stuff and after a while I started to "zone out" until D looked at me and smiled and I realised that I had been singing a song from the Wedding Singer - or a rather specific part of the song:

...somebody kill me please! Somebody kiiill me pleeease! I'm on my knees - pretty pretty pleease! I want to diiie! Put a bullet in my heeeeeaad!

I don't think I'll get a promotion this week either...

Hush...

... don't tell anyone and you did not hear it from me
but I just might
enjoy working in the 'finance industry'...

If only my economics teacher could see me now!
I'm quite a few steps away from the
horse-drawing/schlager-singing girl at the
back of the classroom
xx
years
ago!

I used very bad language last night!

I broke our hallway mirror last night. Well, it fell down by itself but as I'd just been there to fiddle with it, I'll have to accept the fact that it's my fault.

Boyfriend laughed and tried to make me feel better by saying that it was for the 7 years I've just had and not the next 7 years. Nice try sweet pea, but I know how it works and it doesn't count 'backwards'.

And then a man motioned me to walk under his ladder as opposed to crossing the street on my way to work this morning. As if!! I almost threw up and ran across the street while mumbling all possible anti-bad luck "verses" I know. They usually go in the same tone as: "anyone else but me... anyone else but me!" I'm selfish, so what?

To finish on a good note: I've just managed 1 week within the finance business-thing (don't know the proper name for it and never will...) without having died once - even though it was pretty close yesterday morning but I managed to resuscitate myself with a Mars-bar. Thank fug for Mars!

I really shouldn't have ticked that box!

As part of the job introduction-thing I (we) had to sign various forms where one was about "Bird Flu Pandemic" aka "The Next Plague" aka "Mass Killer" aka "Mother Earth Kicks Ass".

Ems was in a good mood thinking "There's no way I'll still be working here when that happens..." and happily ticked the boxes to agree that "yes I can help out in the evenings and weekends if needed in case of a pandemic" as I reckoned Boyfriend would be out on the field curing the sickos anyway, leaving me home alone, and I was in the frame of mind that it wouldn't happen any time sooooon.

1 day later: BBC News Headline - Bird flu discovered on a turkey-farm in the south of England and the virus just happens to be the kind that can be transferred to people... Scary but not as scary that the story was mainly about how it'll affect people's x-mas dinner...

Give that form back - I've changed my mind! I'm not going to help people whose only concerns are whether or not they can put a fuggin' turkey on the table!
Geez!