Sniffs and sneezes

No, not swine flu rather the worst bout of hayfever I have ever had. Quite how there can be so much pollen in central London I’m not sure but the majority of it seems to be zooming up my nose and in my eyes. It is entirely tiresome and not being able to breathe properly is rather energy sapping. I am really quite grumpy about the whole situation.

Hopefully I am still only allergic to birch pollen which means it will all be over soon.

3BT – 27th April

1. I spent the weekend with my family in our family home, all together there for the first time in years. Even though my claim to my bedroom was usurped by my sister and she beat me at Scrabble, it was a lovely weekend.

2. My sister had some news which involved a ring and her boyfriend. This was very exciting as I’ve spent much of the past couple of weeks speculating to myself about how lovely this would be.

3. Ordering a Cornish crab at this restaurant and being astounded at its size (the crab, not the restaurant). Unfortunately they only had one (three of us wanted them for lunch) which was a little irritating, but the beast was so huge there was plenty to share.

4. The London Marathon. I love watching it and being totally over-emotional by the stories and the achievements behind the effort and on the day. However, I am never inspired to actually do it myself. I know my limitations.

Three whole years and good news

Now who would have thought three years ago sat in a meeting room that coincidentally I can see from my current office (but is in a totally different building and a company so distant in culture that I might as well have been working on Mars back then – it was about as hospitable as well), that I would still be blogging?

I had marvellous news yesterday. After three and a half years of freelancing, I am now a permanent employee somewhere. This is very exciting.

I’ve wanted to find a work home since I came back from Tanzania because I realised I missed the stuff that often makes people want to freelance in the first place (people management, the odd bout of office politics). After all I never exactly made a conscious decision to become a freelancer, rather it was a financial necessity and a case of being very badly burned by making a duff choice in employer. But finding a home has been tricky: not a huge number of jobs out there (okay admittedly way more than there are at the moment, have you seen the back pages of PR Week? I haven’t seen a recruitment consultancy ad for weeks); people being highly suspicious of why I wanted to give up freelancing; and frankly some very unpleasant interviews with people who had the social graces of a rottweiler . (Clue, you don’t have to approach a prospective candidate like your fresh from the Guantanamo Bay School of Interview Techniques).

But now I have a proper, permanent job; a set of objectives just for me; the prospect of doing some training and learning more – hurrah on many levels.

The Saints are marching down

I am not given to rampant and unnecessary swearing but this is highly distressing.

At least in 2005 I had to wait to last 10 minutes of the last game of the end of the season before I sat blubbing.

Little update on life

Now why haven’t I been blogging recently? There’s been some sort of blockage – bloggage perhaps? Things have been happening, my life has been on its usual undulating journey but I just haven’t felt able to write about any of it.

As usual, there are a lot of things going on with the slightly gnarly relationship I find myself in. I think this is the root of the problem. I am actually too scared to write about my life in case it turns out one way (and I look stupid) or another way (and everyone thinks I’m stupid).

My work contract in theory ends next Wednesday but (again, in theory) I’m going to be made a permanent member of staff (hurrah!). Except that there’s been some really annoying game playing and politics which means they may actually offer me a job that I don’t want. I can’t decide if they’re just being a tad too laid back about it or if there is a more sinister motivation (of the “in this current economic climate she’ll take any job we offer” variety; they seem to have failed to entertain the concept that if they don’t offer me the job I want, I may actually leave). I will find out this week. 

So on the horns of such dilemmas, my ability to write/speak about anything has disappeared. All conversations are following a similar pattern:

Featherduster: “So how are you?”

AN Other: “Fine, how are you?”

FD: (Breezily) “All good. So what have YOU been up to?”

ANO: (Fills in details of life…) “… and how about you?”

FD: “Oh same old. Same old, you know working, being busy. The usual. So do tell me about…”

And I then use every blocking, stalling and diversionary tactic to avoid discussing ANYTHING about me. I suspect my friends are finding me entirely poor company.

I am hoping my bloggage will clear up soon…in the mean time I may just have to fall back on some of those tried and tested blog-fillers, yes I’m off to find a good meme.

3BT – 15th April

1. My tulips have burst into life and are all full of pink frilly-ness.

2. Discovering new things about someone I have loved for a long time.

3. Reading lots of Dora The Explorer to small people (oi…Swiper no swiping!)

4. Being part of a jolly nice conspiracy.