I know, gone for a couple of days and now posting pretty much twice in a row. I want to start writing in the mornings, not just blog writing, writingwriting too. So I figured I’d start as I mean to go on this morning and at least give the blog a lash, seeing as I’ve arsed around a bit too much to have time for the other. Plus, I have this notion that the desk must be clean before writing can commence – years of purposely delaying starting homework and college work leaves it’s mark. The desk is very far from mess-free at present.

I compose this entry with a mouthful of, (only available in Enniskillen), Kingsmill ‘Seeds and Oats’ bread, toasted and topped with Flora Buttery (which is actually quite a good healthy substitute, and I love butter), and of course, the mandatory first thing cup of coffee. There’s a question actually – I’ve being drinking soy milk in my tea for the past month or so (and now prefer it to milk), but I can’t take it in the coffee – are there ‘creamers’ for coffee that are dairy free which are actually nice, and here’s the catch, that are available in Ireland. How most of you would know that I don’t know, but sure, worth a shot.

Aside from yesterdays unpleasant news, this morning I’m feeling quite chipper. This is realistically the first morning of my new routine. Last Thursday I went in a 1pm, but I was still based out of the main library for training, and on the Friday I had to go to the main library in the morning, so this is to my mind my first day of getting used to starting work at 1pm. I’m kinda liken it, I have to say.

I woke up at 08:00, dozed and lazed and snoozed and wriggled whilst listening to the radio until 09:00 (bliss), then got dressed in a leisurely manner, contemplated life, the universe, and everything, then sat down here. Smiling. I need a routine though. Floating about doing things as they occur to me gets my anxiety fairies fluttering. And soon enough they start demanding a cigarette. And I really don’t want to get into the habit of smoking during the morning/afternoon again. I’ve managed to go back to only smoking in the evenings, maximum three. Often only one. Can’t do without that one though, just in case you were going to suggest it.

Okay, sitting here thinking about cigarettes is not helping me not smoke one, if you know what I mean. Off I’ll pop until tomorrow, wish me luck in the library today, I’m feeling kind of nervous about it all, nothing major, just the usual heaping too much expectation on myself/wanting to be the best at it immediately sort of shite.

Take care all

An unintentional absence, brought about by a bottle of wine on Saturday night and forgetfulness last night. I don’t think it even entered my head to write last night, and it wasn’t like I was actually doing anything. 

Perhaps it’s adjusting to the new routine (highly likely), but my mind is really, really distracted. We went by the shops for some dinner bits and pieces on Saturday afternoon and then just read and watched telly. On Sunday we went for a short drive to Mullagh More to watch the waves crashing, and then just read and watched telly. Today we did the Enniskillen thing, stocking the new freezer, I think I forgot to mention it, it’s a larder style freezer to supplement the tiny crappy one that’s attached to the fridge (which all belongs to this house rather than being part of our personal collection). We’re delighted with the freezer, silly as that sounds, it means I can store a lot of my vegetarian things which can only be found up North (English shops carry more varied stock than scabby Irish ones) and also means I can cook more bulk meals to use as stand bys for I Couldn’t Be Arsed Cooking days.

We got the bad news today that Benny didn’t get the Yeats job. I’m very surprised, he had everything they were looking for, in spades. Perhaps they wanted someone older, perhaps someone knew someone and it never mattered how good an interview he did. We’ll be okay, but it would have been perfect for him and it’s a major kick in the teeth. Job opportunities are few and far between in Sligo and my part-time wages plus the dole don’t amount to much, aside from the fact that after nearly a year of being unemployed he’s getting really fed up. We knew it wouldn’t be easy coming down here, and it hasn’t been in a lot of ways. But our standard of living is high enough for our needs and wants and it’s early days in the great grand scheme of things. I just wanted him to be happy, to have the relief I’ve experienced over the past few weeks, and to see it taken away from him when I know he would have been the best employee they ever had makes me want to go in there and, well, I don’t know, but I’m angry. Stale fish in the filing cabinets, that kind of thing.

Sorry to leave it on a shit note, but there you go. The bed is calling, tomorrow is another day and all that.

P.S. The title is taken from a poem by Yeats, ‘The Fisherman’.

An uneventful day in libraryland. There’s a post up at the other blog from yesterday, I forgot to leave a message here, so if you missed it, off you go.

The kitties are much improved today, more or less back to normal, Millie’s second inner eyelids are still a small touch slow to recede, but there’s no gunk (there wasn’t any at any point), far less squinting and I’ve totally gotten rid of the clay incase the dust was irritating her. His littlest lordship continues to revel in his new found freedom, but was most displeased by this morning’s freezing cold foggy conditions.

My mind is awash with thoughts at the moment but I’m not taking time to write them down, which is a shame. Hopefully I’ll pull myself together in the next few days, I’m just feeling pretty tired and small, and I never feel like writing much when I’m tired and small. I’m happy though, very happy. Now please let that job get back to Benny!

Night all, x

I hate electrical chain store shops. Inflexible, not customer focused, badly trained harassed staff, shit stock, you’ve all been there no doubt. We went to Curry’s (I should have known better), to look for a big freezer, we found one. We waited around for someone to speak to us, we gave up and went home to consider our options. I looked up the price of the one we wanted on a few websites, the price seemed okay so we headed back up an hour or two later.

They didn’t have it in white. Ok says I, what about the silver one that’s here, it’s got some scratches and dents so can you take a few bob off it and we’ll bring it home now. No. Discounts only possible if it’s the last item in stock (as in, the last one ever, in the world, ever). For us to have the white one, which was the only option presented to us, we’d have to pay 25 quid to have it delivered to our home from Dublin. So I said, can it not be delivered here and we’ll bring it home ourselves. No. So, basically, they don’t have the stock in Sligo so I have to pay to get it up here. And he has the cheek to tell me they have to pay 25 euro to have it delivered to the shop, like fuck they do. As I said to him, ’so when you get a truck load of stock up from Dublin, you have to pay 25 euro for each item on the truck?’ Like fuck they do. 

No compromise, no discount on the available slightly shoddy item, so we walked out, as one does. Fuck sake. They don’t advertise a phone number for their shop anywhere on the internet, the only one I found after digging goes to a call centre. What a great mixture, staff locked into stupid inflexible processes, no stock, no phone number, and discriminating against customers that don’t live in Dublin.

Ok, I’m done.

The pussy cats gave themselves diarrhea drinking for a mop bucket of dirty water. If there isn’t a more significant improvement in Millie tomorrow (she’s much better today than yesterday, but still), she’s heading to the vet. Sasha and Kos seem to just have dicky tummies, she looks a bit like she has a cold too, slightly squinty eyes etc. 

The house smells like cat scutter. We’ve cleaned a lot of scutter this weekend. I’m sick of looking at cat poo.

It doesn’t sound like it’s been my day does it? It wasn’t that bad. I’m just drained from the week that was. I have tomorrow off as well though, (because I’m working through to Saturday). Anyway. Sasha just crapped again so I’ll go and clean it.

Celebratory drinkies were had in the local last night, celebrating Benny’s interview going well and my first week as a libranol. We met a Latvian couple who were delighted and fascinated by Benny’s Russian, they never thought such a thing existed, an Irishman speaking fluent Russian. Then we all fell down a drink hole and I didn’t get enough sleep and I’ve died all day. I donnlikeit.

I did manage a few pages of one of my treasured new cookery books that I got in Dublin last week, Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook. I have to make something proper tomorrow, we had pizza tonight. We’re giving up on Domino’s, the quality is too hit and miss and it’s frankly just a waste of money when I’m putting my own meat free toppings on it anyway. Benny prefers my Quorn chicken nuggets and Asda meat-free meatballs too. It was actually him that said we shouldn’t bother with it again. So we’ve resolved to buy a chest freezer, and the hunt might start tomorrow. 

I wish I could write more but my brain keeps stalling. Night all, x

Lordie. I am knackered. Therefore, I go to bed, no typey, much snoozy.

Well, we’re back from the big smoke. We had a lovely time, but I had a cold the whole time and put it off until today. You know how it is, you know you have it, but you’re just not prepared to indulge it, then when it gets the chance, whammo – no moving about for you today.

Our little adventure started off with the flight being delayed by fifteen minutes, then, around half an hour into the wait a nice gentleman came in and advised us that due to a bird strike there would be no flight. A coach was being laid on that wouldn’t get into Dublin airport until 1ish, and if you took it, you wouldn’t get any kind of refund. Fark that says we, we’re gonna take the car. The airline kindly refunded us in full, well, we’ll have to see if they did, but they said they would with no hesitation. There were two ladies (sisters, in their seventies I think they said) behind us in the queue on the way out who had a flight to catch at 13:00 so we offered to take them to the airport – at least in the car they stood some sort of chance of getting there in time for the flight and even if they missed it they’d have the Sligo-Dublin flight refunded. They grew up in Sligo and went over to England to be nurses many years ago. I don’t think we got them there fast enough, but at least they got a refund and we swapped addresses so that we could share Christmas cards.

I had a wonderful time shopping in Dublin, I got all the cookery books I had in mind (which I’ll tell you about again, I’m writing this with drooping eyelids and a real need to go sit down and flake), a beautiful red coat, a nice heavy baking tray for making my breakfast bars, a nice ceramic spaghetti jar, my Green Tea fragrance, (Arden, I think), in a nice little set with a shower gel and cream for only a fiver extra than the bottle of eau de toilette on it’s own. Oh, and piles of Linda McCartney veggie sausages, tofu and so on.

The kitties were ecstatic to have us back. One day is enough Mammy and Daddy, two is just too much. My Godmother came in to mind them, feed them etc. but there’s nothing can replace pettins and attention from me and him apparently Bless.

So now, I’d love to say more, but I’m so yuckyfied, I must go stew in front of the fire with my cookery books.