Grace Notes @ Snarkattack

Last day of NaBloPoMo! It’s over till next year when I assume I’ll be doing it all over again!

I was somewhat mirthful over getting my first paycheck. I’ve been trying to get a comic book at a local pop culture shop which is run in a most erratic manner – they said stock of Alan Moore’s Promethea was coming but they didn’t know when. Hmph. And they didn’t seem to care much for my custom so I thought bugger that, I’ll buy them on eBay.

So my first official purchase with my new-found wealth was on comic books, Alan Moore’s Promethea books 1-3 and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman volume 2 (which I’ve actually read but loved and so desperately want to own a copy!).

First week of work is over. Oh my god, I’m exhausted. But it’s okay, now I’m drinking beer and waiting to catch up with my ex hopefully – if he doesn’t cancel on me again like he has the last two times I was supposed to see him. I still refuse to believe it’s impossible to be friends with ex-significant others, call me stubborn.

Yea, people have started tagging me back in regards to the quiz thingy I had up the other day.

Only one more entry of NaBloPoMo now!

Yes, I’ve run out of steam, could be to do with the fact that when I got home from work I was greeted by a lady and her screaming baby. Lucky I finished work early today (though they did ask me to stay back again…but must think of my health even if the money is tempting). Speaking of work, I got my first paycheck and wow, I’m richer than I’ve ever been in a loooooong time.

I started testing fragrances at work and discovered one that is absolutely divine – it’s actually one I’ve tested before (I have a pouch of imps (that’s what BPAL call samples, short for ‘imp’s ears’) that need retesting and I take them along with me wherever I go, particularly my parents’ place).

Anyway, the one I tried that really tickled my fancy was Alice. Description as follows:

Milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot.

In case you’re wondering, it’s named after Alice from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I need a bottle desperately! Am thinking it will be a nice sleep blend (I have a few I rotate wearing to bed because they’re so relaxing and as well as helping me sleep they make me smell nice! Win-win sitch, innit?).

It’s pretty sad that I only know the date because of taking part in NaBloPoMo which is almost at an end. Only two more days to go, yea! I also get my first paycheck tomorrow which is pretty exciting. Lots of stuff to look forward to.

Not much happened today, went to work then afterwards picked up my meds and did some supermarket shopping and totally forgot to buy nail polish remover, and biscuits for the neighbourhood kitty that keeps sneaking into our place. Whoops. A stranger added me on last.fm as a friend and I’m wondering whether I should read or test some fragrances, too tired to do anything but drink beer but don’t want to start just yet.

Have witnessed bits and pieces of Battlestar Galactica but I must confess it doesn’t really make much sense to me as I haven’t seen it from the beginning (this is the remake series, not the original. Both my housemates are watching it at the moment). Can someone tell me what the fuss is supposed to be about?

You have been tagged nablopomo by www.thegoodqueen.blogspot.com

Rules:

1- Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

As above.

2- Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.

1. I love the taste of cod liver oil (yeah, I’m a sick freak).
2. I have very chipped nail polish on at the moment and it looks oh-so tarty.
3. I live with two guys.
4. I have a brother who is a funeral director’s assistant.
5. My initials spell my nickname.
6. My first memory was at the age of one.
7. I work in a call centre.

3- Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

1. http://heart-strutter.org
2. http://bleedingespresso-sognatrice.blogspot.com
3. http://glenyalla.typepad.com/once_upon_a_blog/
4. http://snarke.net
5. http://musicandcats.com
6. http://mandajuice.typepad.com
7. http://phoenixpcd.wordpress.com

4- Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Done!

That’s my post for today…not many more left for NaBloPoMo!

Last night I went over to a friend’s place and we read each other’s poetry which was pretty cool. It’s really nice to have someone to discuss poetry with, even better to have someone to give you feedback on your own work too.

So today was my first official day at work where we were actually taking support calls by ourselves. I still needed to put people on hold every now and then but I think I’m otherwise okay though I did hear some of the more seasoned workers complain that apparently we’re not trained enough to be taking calls. They did used to train us for 2 weeks, and I think I’d kind of prefer that but being thrown in the deep end is great for the amount of learning you get done.

I had some chicken curry my mother made for supper tonight which was just awesome, especially with my housemate’s golden ale which is the latest thing to go in the kegs. I’ve also noticed that I’m losing weight which is fantastic! Life seems good so far. Hope things stay the same!

Having a wonderful lazy day today. And yesterday was so damn productive!

I wrote 2 fragmentary poems – the exercise was called a glose – Spanish word, where you get four lines of another poem, copy it to make it the beginning of your poem then you write a free verse poem that is related to the lines you’ve quoted – it can be related in any way, you can discuss the lines, build on them, pick them to shreds, whatever. So yes, I wrote two of those and might do a few more today if I can find some appropriate poems. Now I’m feeling the pinch of not being around my beloved poetry collection! I also wore a ritual oil which is supposed to help inspire creativity, I wonder if it worked? I’ll have to test it on my friend M I think who is also a writer.

Last night I dined with my family, which was lovely. We went to a local Italian restaurant and I had half a dozen oysters natural with chopped shallots and aged wine vinegar, then as a main crumbed cheese-stuffed zucchini flowers with cherry tomatoes and salsa verde. For dessert I had zuppa inglese (which is the fancy Italian way of saying trifle – I got a tad too excited about trifle on the menu which resulted in my father berating me for my child-like enthusiasm) but also got a taste of Mum’s panna cotta which was what I was going to originally order (by the way, I’m listing these descriptions for the benefit of my lovely girlfriend L whose food entries in her own blog always leave me salivating).

I did eventually turn up to a party that my housemate had invited me to and had a bit of fun there…I was a bit nervous, not really knowing anyone but I think I managed to appear pretty socially ‘regular’ for a change. I was greeted at the door by some lads who insisted upon my drinking of hooch (95% alcohol – it nearly made me puke, I swear) and then after that it was chased down by some decent homebrew. The party was for the election (Australia just had a federal election) and (Australian) Labor won, so no more John Howard, w00t! So yeah, overall I had a really nice time and I’m really glad I went. I still can’t get over how well I seem to be doing with just everything this week. Perhaps I really am on the mend…for good!

It’s been an eventful day already, I started the day by going to yoga! Went with a friend. Yea me, being active and everything. I don’t get to vote like everyone else in Australia (I’m not a citizen, only a permanent resident). Will also be having dinner with my parents later on tonight and going out to my housemate’s friend’s house for some election party I believe. I am trying really hard to lead a normal life and this week have really been succeeding. Nice to have stuff to do on a Saturday. Think I’ll go read my book about writing poetry now – feeling a tad inspired after reading some letters Ted Hughes (one of my favourite poets) in the newspaper. Who knows, maybe I’ll even feel like writing something today?

Finished my first week of work without incident! Been a pretty laid-back sort of day, we got to listen to a lot more calls than we got to take which was okay with me. I’m still a bit nervous but I think I’ll be fine…it also looks like I’ll be working all next week too which will be good for Christmas I guess. Not much else to report except that I successfully didn’t buy anything on Buy Nothing Day which was today!

It’s a…meme! Yea, huzzah! Pinched from Deeleea as always.
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Grrr! I couldn’t get to sleep last night because it was so damn hot, and someone has stolen my car parking spot! I noticed another car is parking next to the car I usually park next to and so I’ve nowhere to park now. Not that I exactly need my car (it’s at my parents’ place) but still, when I do get it back I don’t want to park out on the street again like I used to have to before I found that spot.

Training is still going well though today I experienced a bit of information overload and got a tad panicky…not yet panicky enough to have to take diazepam but getting there. I’m pretty nervous about the next two days but what can you do? I just have to keep on reminding myself that I’ve done call centre work before and am not as retarded as I think I am (it’s hard to persuade myself otherwise, I know, but I can try, eh?). Actually, I was late to work because I had so much trouble sleeping which is no good. Our house still hadn’t cooled down sufficiently and even now though it’s about 18 degrees and raining my room is still stuffy despite my having the door in it open.

I should be celebrating. I had a bad year last year, a really bad one and finally I’m starting to feel vaguely normal. So normal I feel weird taking my meds (though of course that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop taking them…that would be stupid). I should also be rejoicing because I’m actually going to have money for Christmas presents for people too.

Training for work is going well so far. Today we were nice and lucky and got let off early which was nice – and still got paid for it. So I got to go to the supermarket and do my shopping earlier than usual, yea. The training has been pretty comprehensive so far and we’ve got to do fun things like put on small skits. They also feed us sweets constantly which is really nice! Plus I live not too far away from work so I get to go home for lunch.

Went to the pub tonight with my housemates as Rob has returned from his holiday in New Zealand which is good. He was pleasantly surprised to see his hops plant having grown so much. At the pub, Frosty had a chicken parmagiana, Rob a chicken risotto and I had a seafood platter with natural oysters, salmon gravlax, battered prawns and battered calamari. It was pretty nice though the calamari was a touch too salty (they put too much salt on it I think).

The weather has been sweltering but it’s finally starting to cool down. Tomorrow will be 20 degrees cooler than the last 2 days which is insane – like summer and autumn in a short space of time.

My nails on both my toes and fingers are bright, harlot red. My mother kindly painted them for the wedding I went to last night which I think was a success for this social retard. In fact, I seem to be becoming less socially retarded which is always good news. The wedding was wonderful and the food was delicious – and the bride looked supremely happy and not stressed which is fantastic. Of course I was silly and had coffee after dessert (I figured the coffee and champers would cancel one another out…they did not…) and couldn’t sleep which was insane seeing as I actually had to get up early for the new job and all.

So yes, I had my first day of training and so far it seems pretty good. The people seem nice and it’s a great environment to work in. Am still horrendously nervous but I’m sure I’ll be fine once I get going. We all have to start somewhere! An added bonus is it’s only ten minutes’ walk from where I live so I actually came home during my lunch break.

Well, I’m getting back to chilling out…the weather here is insufferably hot at present. I said I wouldn’t drink anymore of the beer that upsets my tummy but I’m drinking it right now!

The official website for NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) has changed this year. This year you get to sign up and be counted – here’s a link to my profile on the site.

So our family is actually invited to two weddings today. I’m going to one with my father, and my mother is going with my brother and his fiancee. I was pleasantly surprised to find a dress in size 6 (I’ve no idea what that is in American sizing, sorry folks) thus proving I’m more of a size 6-8 than a 8-10. Woo hoo! Such small triumphs.

Starting training for my job tomorrow. It was sort of funny, woke up at 6.30am this morning (which I hope to do tomorrow) because I got a fierce nosebleed. What a great way to wake up.

Am enjoying Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman which I started the other day. It’s really funny. Well, best be off to my parents’ place to get ready for this whole wedding thing.

I got a job! I’ll be working at a call centre dealing with customers who want to redeem their points for a shopping loyalty programme etc. Oh my gosh, I’m so ready for work so this will be excellent.

I also got a dress and a pair of shoes for a wedding I’m attending tomorrow – shopping was oddly effortless. My father very unfortunately lost the first dress I bought so had to buy a second one but it was cool, my mother bought me a pair of trousers too. Woo!

Well, this is just a short one, am at the parental fold recovering from the shopping. I’m definitely getting better being out in public which is awesome.

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God I’m lame.

It actually bothers me when someone removes me as a friend on Facebook, I mean, wtf? It isn’t someone I know in real life though I have corresponded with her via several e-mails. And what is with everyone listing that they’re in relationships?! Jealous – perhaps! I don’t know, I need to get over my Facebook addiction (thanks lots Dee! Yeah, I blame you for introducing me to the world of Facebook). Maybe I ought to deactivate my account…
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Someone pinched part of my blog post for this day and posted it here. Well, kind of pinched and kind of credited. It looks like a spam blog. I don’t get why they would want to do that…bizarre. As far as I can see the blog isn’t about food but just indexes posts that mention certain types of food. Weird.

Have almost finished The Scent Trail by Celia Lyttelton. Am up to the ambergris chapter and I have to say, ambergris sounds gross. Especially when it has squid beaks floating around in it (I didn’t even know squids have beaks!). Apparently, sperm whales swallow squid whole because they’re so soft but often end up throwing up the beak (!) encased in some yucky viscous semi-solid thing called ambergris. The beak is extremely sharp and doesn’t break down in the sperm whale’s belly. Usually ambergris washes up on the beach but it can be obtained by (perish the thought) harpooning the poor beast. Ambergris is still fairly rare and smells like musk or something, though apparently it isn’t nice by itself and augments other smells in fragrances, I believe it’s used as a fixative. It looks like pumice stone too. This is all information I got from Lyttelton’s book, but you can read more about ambergris on (where else?!) beloved Wikipedia.

Lyttelton also talked about civet cats and how their anal glands used to be milked for musk (ugh, poor things!) which is now thankfully outlawed. Even worse, the cats where first enraged because they produced more of the substance! God, humans are a cruel lot for vanity’s sake.

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Society is really heterosexist.

Well, duh, you might say. I know, an obvious statement but there aren’t many opportunities for the largely straight to appreciate that, I don’t think.

Because I moved into a household with two males, for social security purposes I had to fill in a form stating that I was not having a relationship with either party. They ask this because if I were having a relationship with someone they would take that person’s assets and income into consideration when paying me welfare.

Makes me wonder, what if I stated I was having a relationship with both males living with me?!?! Hahaha!

Anyway, they don’t ask all these questions apparently if you’re living with females. It just strikes me as odd – surely if they’re going to ask about males then it’d only be fair to ask about females too? Or is that too logical or something?

Okay, I’ll stop being all serious now and go back to listening to Gang of Four. I highly recommend Entertainment!

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Well, today I had a group interview for a job, I’m pretty freaking nervous. It went well (at least I think it did), will find out by Friday whether or not I have training for it next week. Please let me get this job, I really need it!

Today a little parcel arrived at the door for me – it was from my friend C in the States. So yea, I have more fragrance samples to try! I’m a bit worried that the postman just left the parcel at the door…not exactly a wise thing to do in times like this if you ask me.

I made mashed potatoes for the first time in ages and it’s official – I’ve definitely lost my cooking mojo. It was a pretty sorrowful attempt at mash but at least it tasted nice (I added parmesan…parmesan fixes everything for me, I swear).

Well, pretty sorrowful evening in general. Waiting for someone who promised to call me to call (and of course isn’t…sigh) and drinking pints of beer by myself. My psychologist did tell me to watch my alcohol consumption…it’s so damn hard when there’s so much of it and it’s just staring you in the face! Oh well, off to have another pint.

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I can’t sleep so I’m cheating and blogging on day twelve at one in the morning. Though may add more to this later after my day is actually over.

I’ve been up continuing my reading of The Scent Trail by Celia Lyttelton and have just finished the chapter where she has travelled to Tuscany in search of the orris (iris) root harvest. Perhaps there’s hope for me and that 50-book challenge as I’m halfway through the book…if I can slip in a few more comic book collections then I should just be able to make it.
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Such a nothing day yesterday, though I finished watching the rest of Believe Nothing (highly recommended) and then watched Dr Strangelove for the first time. It wasn’t as funny as I thought it would be.

I also tested another fragrance called Smut. Let me rustle around for a description…

What a great freakin’ word. BPAL LOVES TEH SMUT! Three swarthy, smutty musks sweetened with sugar and woozy with dark booze notes.

According to the housie, I smelt like musk sticks, you know the yummy pink confectionery? But it’s much nicer than that.

Not much else to report on this end, though I think I might have forgotten to take my happy pill yesterday. Whoops.

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