I've been spring cleaning today! I put some blankets on the floor for washing, and guess which little girl wanted to go to sleep somewhere warm?Not the greatest photo, because I didn't want to disturb her, but don't you just love her?
Sunday, 6 May 2007
Awwww, sweet little Lola!
I've been spring cleaning today! I put some blankets on the floor for washing, and guess which little girl wanted to go to sleep somewhere warm?Not the greatest photo, because I didn't want to disturb her, but don't you just love her?
I'm probably going to get slaughtered for this entry!
Getting up early in the week means my body clock usually wakes me up early on weekends too. Not always wanting to get up at that time (because on weekends I don't have to), I often laze around in bed and bung the telly on! At that time, the only thing worth watching is the music channels - I know, I know, I could view the news channels, but on a Sunday morning???
Being a lover of foreign films, I've got no problem watching programmes with subtitles, and I really think it's amazing that some Channel 4 programmes are shown with sign language. But there was something oddly disturbing about the lady 'signing' to the music videos this morning! It wasn't the 'signing' that was making me feel uncomfortable, I don't even think it was her dancing, but there was just something about her that scared me..... maybe it was because she looked a little bit like Stella from Eastenders....
... still, whatever the reason, I am eternally grateful to her, cos it meant I switched off the tv, got out of bed and started my spring cleaning!
Being a lover of foreign films, I've got no problem watching programmes with subtitles, and I really think it's amazing that some Channel 4 programmes are shown with sign language. But there was something oddly disturbing about the lady 'signing' to the music videos this morning! It wasn't the 'signing' that was making me feel uncomfortable, I don't even think it was her dancing, but there was just something about her that scared me..... maybe it was because she looked a little bit like Stella from Eastenders....
... still, whatever the reason, I am eternally grateful to her, cos it meant I switched off the tv, got out of bed and started my spring cleaning!
What am I allowed to say?
Following on from Paula's comments on Whoppy's Whinge, I'm beginning to get really confused about what is "acceptable" to say, and what is deemed "politically incorrect" or "racist". I'm also a bit unsure of how Freedom of Speech sits with Political Correctness - explanations welcome!
While growing up, I don't remember taking skin colour/ religious beliefs/ disability/ ability/ sexual orientation/ shape/ size/ stereotypes/ appearance etc into consideration when making friends, or forming opinions of people, but I certainly told the odd Englishman/ Irishman/ Scotsman joke, or used labels such as Geordie/ Scouser/ Cockney etc, without a second thought. These days, it's deemed unacceptable to tell this type of joke, in case someone is offended.
Incidentally, can anyone tell me when a "joke" stopped being a "joke", and became politically incorrect? It definitely wasn't in the early 90's, when Essex Girl/ Blonde jokes were in circulation - and if these had come into circulation in this day and age, would they be classed as racist, or deemed acceptable as Essex girls are too thick to understand them? [relax, I'm an Essex girl, so it's okay for me to say that, er, I think - just in case, apologies to any Essex girl I just offended!]
Sorry, slight digression.... so, can anyone help me with my confusion? What am I, or not, allowed to say - for example, what is the correct description of someone who isn't very tall? Should I refer to them as 'vertically challenged'? Can I say someone is 'handicapped' or 'disabled', or is there a more acceptable term? Is the word 'fat' okay to use, or should I refer to my 'obese arse' rather than my 'fat lardy arse'?
Lordy, forget Wilkepedia, there should be an online politically correct terminology reference book for thickos like me!!!
p.s. can I say thickos?
While growing up, I don't remember taking skin colour/ religious beliefs/ disability/ ability/ sexual orientation/ shape/ size/ stereotypes/ appearance etc into consideration when making friends, or forming opinions of people, but I certainly told the odd Englishman/ Irishman/ Scotsman joke, or used labels such as Geordie/ Scouser/ Cockney etc, without a second thought. These days, it's deemed unacceptable to tell this type of joke, in case someone is offended.
Incidentally, can anyone tell me when a "joke" stopped being a "joke", and became politically incorrect? It definitely wasn't in the early 90's, when Essex Girl/ Blonde jokes were in circulation - and if these had come into circulation in this day and age, would they be classed as racist, or deemed acceptable as Essex girls are too thick to understand them? [relax, I'm an Essex girl, so it's okay for me to say that, er, I think - just in case, apologies to any Essex girl I just offended!]
Sorry, slight digression.... so, can anyone help me with my confusion? What am I, or not, allowed to say - for example, what is the correct description of someone who isn't very tall? Should I refer to them as 'vertically challenged'? Can I say someone is 'handicapped' or 'disabled', or is there a more acceptable term? Is the word 'fat' okay to use, or should I refer to my 'obese arse' rather than my 'fat lardy arse'?
Lordy, forget Wilkepedia, there should be an online politically correct terminology reference book for thickos like me!!!
p.s. can I say thickos?
Saturday, 5 May 2007
Ouch!
I had a really bad headache on one side of my head yesterday... being a bit of a drama queen, I was thinking, hospital, brain scan etc.... Anyway, wasn't until the evening that I realised I had a really huge spot in my hair line - god, how painful are they??? Obviously I had to squeeze and scratch it a bit, until it was flat again...
.... and then I noticed a really, really tiny spot on my nose! I just lightly touched it, and an inproportionate amount of blood came gushing out of it! It took about 20 mintues for it to stop bleeding!
This morning, there is absolutey no evidence of the hairline spot, yet my nose has this bright red patch on it!!!
Why aren't the size of spots indicative of the amount of gunk, pain and aftermath there will be????
.... and then I noticed a really, really tiny spot on my nose! I just lightly touched it, and an inproportionate amount of blood came gushing out of it! It took about 20 mintues for it to stop bleeding!
This morning, there is absolutey no evidence of the hairline spot, yet my nose has this bright red patch on it!!!
Why aren't the size of spots indicative of the amount of gunk, pain and aftermath there will be????
Wednesday, 2 May 2007
and another thing...
Forgot to mention this strange incident that happened this morning!
Bit of boring background for you... when we were based at Canary Wharf, the bank decided to bring in a recycling policy, which is something we'd been asking about for years! They sent a note round to say they were going to collect all the desk bins on the Friday, so if we wanted to keep one, we'd have to lock it in the cupboard for that night... However, they decided to collect them on the Wednesday, so we all lost them, and they then refused to give any back. Colour coded bins were then placed around the office, so everyone could start separating their cups/ cans/ cardboard etc from their general waste. Of course, this totally backfired, as everyone could not be arsed to get up and walk 20 metres to find a bin, so ended up stuffing rubbish in their empty cups, and throwing it all out as general waste at the end of the day!
When we moved to Park Street, there were even less bins, and even further to walk... and lets face it, who wants to walk a mile to find a bin, everytime you take your tea bag out...! Needless to say, a lot of us bought our own cheap bins, and empty them at the end of the day!
This morning, some strange little man came marching up to my desk, picked up my bin and started walking away with it... in my defense, it was VERY early in the morning, and it was a bit of a principal thing... anyway:
Me: Excuse me, where are you taking my bin?
SLM: I'm taking it away.
Me: Why?
SLM: Because I have to.
Me: Why do you have to?
SLM: Because I've been told to.
Me: But it's my bin
SLM: Yes, and you can't have it.
Me: But it's mine, I paid for it.
SLM: And I am taking it.
Me: No, you are not taking it, because it's mine.
At this point, I was ready to pounce on him, wrestle the bin away from him, get him in a headlock, and give him a few right uppercuts. Obviously this thought may have reflected in my eyes, as he suddenly threw the bin back at me, and scarpered.
He then proceeded to try and take everybody elses bin. Of course, he was challenged every time he picked up a bin, and within 15 mins looked as though he was about to have a full-on panic attack!
I did actually feel a bit sorry for him, as he was only following orders, but how pathetic is it that we can't have our bins???
Bit of boring background for you... when we were based at Canary Wharf, the bank decided to bring in a recycling policy, which is something we'd been asking about for years! They sent a note round to say they were going to collect all the desk bins on the Friday, so if we wanted to keep one, we'd have to lock it in the cupboard for that night... However, they decided to collect them on the Wednesday, so we all lost them, and they then refused to give any back. Colour coded bins were then placed around the office, so everyone could start separating their cups/ cans/ cardboard etc from their general waste. Of course, this totally backfired, as everyone could not be arsed to get up and walk 20 metres to find a bin, so ended up stuffing rubbish in their empty cups, and throwing it all out as general waste at the end of the day!
When we moved to Park Street, there were even less bins, and even further to walk... and lets face it, who wants to walk a mile to find a bin, everytime you take your tea bag out...! Needless to say, a lot of us bought our own cheap bins, and empty them at the end of the day!
This morning, some strange little man came marching up to my desk, picked up my bin and started walking away with it... in my defense, it was VERY early in the morning, and it was a bit of a principal thing... anyway:
Me: Excuse me, where are you taking my bin?
SLM: I'm taking it away.
Me: Why?
SLM: Because I have to.
Me: Why do you have to?
SLM: Because I've been told to.
Me: But it's my bin
SLM: Yes, and you can't have it.
Me: But it's mine, I paid for it.
SLM: And I am taking it.
Me: No, you are not taking it, because it's mine.
At this point, I was ready to pounce on him, wrestle the bin away from him, get him in a headlock, and give him a few right uppercuts. Obviously this thought may have reflected in my eyes, as he suddenly threw the bin back at me, and scarpered.
He then proceeded to try and take everybody elses bin. Of course, he was challenged every time he picked up a bin, and within 15 mins looked as though he was about to have a full-on panic attack!
I did actually feel a bit sorry for him, as he was only following orders, but how pathetic is it that we can't have our bins???
Surreal moments
Do you ever have moments so surreal, that you wonder if you're acting out a Little Britain sketch???
I seem to experience quite a few of these at work, and the majority of them are down to some of our global colleagues.... now before I upset the Politically Correct brigade, I'd just like to point out that I don't care where my colleagues are based, providing they give a good service, and are up to the job. Sadly, this is not often the case, which makes it incredibly difficult to refrain from agreeing with customer's when they voice their displeasure at service they've received from a call centre based overseas. In fact, I have to bite my tongue so that I don't beg for sympathy from the customers - our colleagues in the call centres have to have a higher level of linguistic skills, than the staff based in the "back offices" whom we have to interact with. I have given up counting the number of times I've asked an 'either/ or' question, and been given the answer "yes"!!!!
Yesterday, our fax machine wasn't working, and I drew the short straw for phoning the systems help desk, based overseas. After several "can you slow down please, I don't understand what you are asking me?" I gave the information that they required, only to be told that they would have to phone me back as the system they used to route the faults to the relevant departments was down, so they couldn't do anything, and they couldn't tell me when it would be back up. The department who would need to help me was also experiencing the same system problems, so they could not do any work either. I asked if they could transfer me through to that department, as they may be able to talk me through fixing the fax over the phone, and was told "computer says no"... How I didn't lose it completely, I will never know!!!
I seem to experience quite a few of these at work, and the majority of them are down to some of our global colleagues.... now before I upset the Politically Correct brigade, I'd just like to point out that I don't care where my colleagues are based, providing they give a good service, and are up to the job. Sadly, this is not often the case, which makes it incredibly difficult to refrain from agreeing with customer's when they voice their displeasure at service they've received from a call centre based overseas. In fact, I have to bite my tongue so that I don't beg for sympathy from the customers - our colleagues in the call centres have to have a higher level of linguistic skills, than the staff based in the "back offices" whom we have to interact with. I have given up counting the number of times I've asked an 'either/ or' question, and been given the answer "yes"!!!!
Yesterday, our fax machine wasn't working, and I drew the short straw for phoning the systems help desk, based overseas. After several "can you slow down please, I don't understand what you are asking me?" I gave the information that they required, only to be told that they would have to phone me back as the system they used to route the faults to the relevant departments was down, so they couldn't do anything, and they couldn't tell me when it would be back up. The department who would need to help me was also experiencing the same system problems, so they could not do any work either. I asked if they could transfer me through to that department, as they may be able to talk me through fixing the fax over the phone, and was told "computer says no"... How I didn't lose it completely, I will never know!!!
Tuesday, 1 May 2007
Not much to report today!
Ahhhh, I love Peter Petrelli!!! But enough about Heroes...
Double whammy today - SNIFFING lady sat next to me AGAIN! And then Crying Girl was on the train on the way home - although she appeared to be surprisingly subdued, for once!
There was a May Day protest picket line outside our building today... started off with about 2 people, and ended with about 15! Bleedin' protests meant it took longer to walk to work today, as all the shortcuts through courtyards were barred! Bah!
Had to leave Lola out today (again) as still haven't decided what I'm going to do about her Houdini escapades! I let Reggie out too, to keep her company. I came home from work, and found them cuddled up under the chair - how cute! They obviously didn't want to go back in their pens, as Reggie hissed at me when I picked him up!!! He's not getting freedom tomorrow for that [tortoise equivalent of being grounded/ revoking TV privileges] - he'll learn!
Planted an hibiscus tree, and a couple of blueberry bushes at the weekend - and they're still alive!
Oh, just heard a weird sound from Reggie's pen, and it appears that he has been swapping notes with Lola, as he's moved his cuttlefish to the side of the pen, and climbed up on it... but as it's not flat, it just started wobbling as soon as he got on it! Shouldn't laugh, but he does look a bit confused!!!
Double whammy today - SNIFFING lady sat next to me AGAIN! And then Crying Girl was on the train on the way home - although she appeared to be surprisingly subdued, for once!
There was a May Day protest picket line outside our building today... started off with about 2 people, and ended with about 15! Bleedin' protests meant it took longer to walk to work today, as all the shortcuts through courtyards were barred! Bah!
Had to leave Lola out today (again) as still haven't decided what I'm going to do about her Houdini escapades! I let Reggie out too, to keep her company. I came home from work, and found them cuddled up under the chair - how cute! They obviously didn't want to go back in their pens, as Reggie hissed at me when I picked him up!!! He's not getting freedom tomorrow for that [tortoise equivalent of being grounded/ revoking TV privileges] - he'll learn!
Planted an hibiscus tree, and a couple of blueberry bushes at the weekend - and they're still alive!
Oh, just heard a weird sound from Reggie's pen, and it appears that he has been swapping notes with Lola, as he's moved his cuttlefish to the side of the pen, and climbed up on it... but as it's not flat, it just started wobbling as soon as he got on it! Shouldn't laugh, but he does look a bit confused!!!
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