Time and again 2.

13.07.2009

Been a while since my last post (8 months and 29 days). what the hell, it's my blog. I can do what I want with it.

Where am I now.

Single at the moment. going speed dating with a mate this weekend. First time, will be interesting.

Bought an iphone. The newer one, it does get hot, but not that hot. The battery life is terrible. However, I still love the thing, warts and all.

Enrolled on a computer games design course. Interesting. Will see how that goes. It's a study from home thing. Will take between one to three years. Depending on how quickly I can study or want to study. It's flexible.

Still in the same retail job. A lot is much the same as it was, although I think I'm being shaken out of that. Which is no bad thing. Long overdue.

Just come through the funks, wasn't pleasent, but that's life. Feeling much more optimistic about stuff.

I'm still poor-ish. I am saving money though. Just poor because I live in London and it's expensive!!!

Balder, slightly heavier, decided to get rid of my facial hair (goatees and nonsense) I'm sick of that stuff. Clean shaven from here on in.

Right, think that's about it. Back to the nether world. The real world and not this written one.

Time and again.

Thought I'd pop back in for five minutes. What the hell, it's my blog. Even though it's been laying by the wayside for a bit.

What's happening with me right now?

Still in the same old job.
Comedy is happening, I am performing. Although I need to start being really serious about it. Get out at least three times a week. They say you should gig at least 15 a month. So, that's my aim.
Still single, gotta sort that out. Time alone is nice, but too much isn't.

It's been raining today, but I quite enjoyed it, even though it was a bit dull.

Got an ipod touch, which I love. Great great thing, especially if you travel a fair bit and need entertaining on the go. It's ideal.

Fairly tired at the moment, but that's because of the late nights and early mornings. I like my snooze time.

Currently a little conflicted. I'm in two minds about something, which is odd, as I'm really only one person. Hmm...

Pondering, lots of pondering at the moment and lots of routine. Which is rubbish. I need something a bit different chucked into the works.

Well, that's it. I'm off again. Don't know if I'll be back again. Maybe... What does it matter really.

When I tell people I work from 1 to 9pm they all put on the same face and I say "yeah..."

Not the best hours to do. But it's only for a short while and soon I'll be making money once more. Well, I'm making money now, it's just not in my hands right now.

I sat on the till for the first five minutes and looked at the time, there was no way I could see 8 hours passing by quickly. It stretched out and seemed like an impossibly long time. Fortunately, the first four to five hours do flyby. Although it starts to drag toward the end.

I hate the hours, I hate the work, but I love the money and I love that it'll let me be able to start doing things I want to do.
I'm really going to look into teaching again. For myself, with my own private clients. If I could get enough people for one class per week, or whatever, I'll be able to build that up slowly over time. Hopefully...

It'll sure beat the pants off any other type of work.

On another note, I'm still studying Chinese and I was pleased to discover some Chinese programmes on youtube.



I can practice reading and listening again.

Anyway, I've got an hour before I need to leave, so I'd better get going.

Ciao, 再见.

Content.

I've been struggling with myself recently, namely because I've not been so busy. But, I am on the cusp of new things, so that, has offset it nicely. I'm not worried. I'm hopeful, I'm also going to work hard this year and next. I think it mentioned in my horoscope sometime that life would take a turn from peaceful and relaxed to busy and productive.

A welcome change for me it will be.

I've been sat on my bum taking it easy for long enough, I'm ready to sink my teeth into a few things now. I want to get going, in a big way. As ever, how things pan out, depend on time and what happens beyond what I can know and see now.

The future will be very different for me, obvious I 'spose. That's life after all.

It is so nice to have something to look forward to, also something to work hard for, to personally achieve. Whilst my life is full of such achievements, they've been all on the mental plane. Not really in the actual physical world, but in the real world, that physical space. I haven't done that for a while I feel. Although I'm usually bad at judging myself. I lack a decent perspective, but I try not to worry about that, I'll hear what I need to.

Although, this week I have to get some pictures of myself and bring proof of address to the shop where I'll be working. Then attend a training session and next week should be in full time work, hopefully, and I'll try my best to make it happen, work next year. It'll be helpful to my plans, or at least, the way I want things to go. Life tends to chose it's own route I've found out over the years. Perhaps they'll coincide this time?

Anyway, I'm feeling good about things. A warm comfortable good.

Looking forward to xmas.

Just for Pipe Tobacco.

Hmm, I'd like to explain this the long way round, but really, it doesn't require a huge amount of explanation.

I'll be working at Marks and Spencers Pipe. Not going to say exactly where, but near home.
So I imagine working on the till (Cash register, I'm not sure what American terminology is for that), stocking shelves, and lots of different things within the store. It'll be nice. Back to the old 9 to 5. Although, I'll be working slightly later in the day.

Like I said, at least I think I did, before hand. It'll give me that much needed foot up to get on and be able to change the way I want to. Make things as I want them to be. That would be great. I'm not hoping for huge things, I'd content myself with small ones. Although I'm reminded by my Italian Student Mr Reti, if you dream small you get small, you dream big, you get big. Perhaps small will lead to big, look on the bright side. Brick by brick.

But having money for a change in my own country, opposed to earning abroad will be a Brucy bonus for me. Almost a novelty in fact. I've rarely had cash to splash whilst living at home (home as in London, although the prior is true also). It'll also help on the dating ladies front, it'll make things much much easier having a job than not.

So, just earning a wage will be enough for me really, I'll be able to afford to pursue a few of my dreams.
One of them is teaching my own students and making my own cash, not working for a school or anything like that. I'd like to stay on at M&S next year, but part time, then I could work teaching English during my time off from that. One would help support the other.

The other would be some performing, but rather something like situational comedy's devised with some friends of mine. I want to film and make my own comedy shows. Even if it's just for something to do. I know one of my mates would be interested, I just need to get things organised. Working part time would also be a plus as far as that is concerned. If I can work for myself as well as doing teaching, it should help. Teaching is flexible as I'd be calling the shots, more so than working for someone else. I can also undercut the prices of enrolment in big schools. I happen to also be in one of the best places in the world to do that, London. Only 1 in 4 of us here are English you know. So finding students wont be too hard for me.

So, this first step is a small one, but a significant one. I hope. I really want to make this happen in 2007, so at least, by 2008 I'll have laid some good solid foundations.

I believe I can do it. I hope I can do it. I also hope I haven't rambled Pipe, I've remembered this is just for you Sir. I'm kinda used to writing in general.

It's really nice to have that job, now everything else seems so much more concrete and doable.

I'm happy.

Mid-week.

I like midweek, Wednesday, it's a "time for a cup of tea" kind of day. It's that time, where you've been working hard during the last two days and you can afford to do so, you have a sit down and enjoy a cup of tea. Even if you simply just allow your mind to wander. Take it for an amble down the path.

I think I'm at my Wednesday about now actually.

Monday was pretty hard, I had left Italy feeling rather down, I've had to go through the notions of what I wanted to do. Was I doing the moving abroad route because I wanted to? Because it was great? Or because it was there and I felt I should. Regardless of actually wanting to or not. That was pretty tough, seeing through the gloop in your own mind is one of the hardest things to do in this life. It's only when you come to terms and understand where you are and what you really want, that you can make some headway. That was my Monday.

My Tuesday was looking for work, here you can say "I know where I'm headed now" I can see where I'm supposed to be going, for myself, that is.
So I started looking and looking and looking and looking for that thing. You start to feel down on yourself. Because even though you know where you want to go, you've got to make it actually happen. It's hard, more for the fact that you truly don't know what lies around that corner, just because your mind's made up, real life has to allow it. Then just when you thought you were never going to get anywhere and you thought you were wasting your time and your mind's going "ARGH!".

Kaboom! Job (or the thing you were after) lands at your feet. You've made it happen. You've crossed that line, it's a dead certainty. Fantastic.

So now it's mid-week. It isn't the end of the week by any means, but you're most certainly allowed to put your feet up. You've done a good job through Monday and Tuesday, it's been a hard start to the week, but after the weekend, that's always true. So this is really about the time to put your feet up have ten minutes to yourself for yourself.

Something I'm going to do today.

But Thursday's going to come, and Thursday is where you really start back on your feet again. Really it should have been Monday that that happened, but this is life and we're not always that fortunate.
So Thursday is about getting on and learning the stuff you need to do, making something of your recent achievement. It's not going to be smooth flowing, it'll get a little rough. But you are established now, nothing's going to fall out from under your feet, unless you're extremely careless. But that's very rare that that actually happens, especially after you've been through all the grind of Monday and Tuesday. You've had your short rest on Wednesday, so you're relaxed and prepared.

After all of this, it's nearly the end of the week, Friday. Which for some I know is the point where you're really tired, worn out and spent. You need a break.
Although, for me now, Friday's the day to really make things happen. It's when you organise stuff for the weekend. The things that you want to do, not what you have to do. You've gone through Thursday and made the best of it, which has allowed you to take Friday by the balls. Thus giving you your power to make the most of your weekend, the time for fun and games. what you really want to do, what you most desire. Within real expectations of course. So Friday, you organise and check out all those options open to you now, having finished with the other four days prior.

The weekend. Well, I don't think I need to write about that, that's fairly obvious. It's party time. You're enabled, you've achieved, you've done the work. Now you can play and play well. All those dreams you have had through the week may come true.


Where am I in all of this, I'm still in Wednesday and Thursday is about to begin, but once that's over, about December the 21st I reckon, my Friday will start. Leading me into a good new year. Where hopefully, the weekend will start soon. There are always those days which just seem to take for ever to pass by. But I really wont mind saying that, Friday's a good day. The last one of the working week, the weekend's merely hours away. Where all your dreams may come true...

I'm in a good place at the moment, so I'm having five minutes to myself. Then I'll be getting back to the grind to make my dreams come true.

Ahh... life.

Did I mention recently that I found and have myself a job?

No?

I nearly messed it up for myself as well at the interview. I was supposed to have looked at several cards for this role play situation. I thought they were going to be given to me. Nope. I waited for them to be put into my hands, it wasn't happening.

I waited a long while and one of my interviewers came in and said looking over my left shoulder "Have you looked at your cards yet?" I followed her eyes and nearly lept from my chair. They were plastered all over the back of the room and when I'd come in and sat down, I'd completely managed to miss them, Even though they were pretty much right in my face.
My heart sank and I thought I'd blown it for myself, but as they say, every cloud has a silver lining and mine did that day.

I am now employed again. Yay!

But I've got a few days before training and work starts so I have a while to adjust to getting back into full time work. Which will be a little hard as I'd gotten used to working 25 hours a week as an English teacher.

Anyway, I hope, next year to combine both this current work and my English teaching on a fifty fifty basis. But we'll see. I might have to put in some hard work for that to happen.

We'll see.

Well.

More hassle for me today. It comes from one instigator, who shall remain nameless.

But it made me quite unhappy today, I really want to leave this house and forge ahead on my own now. I think I've had long enough here. Time to move on.

Which will only happen as long as I get a job soon and can find my own place a while after. Realistically the soonest I'll be able to move will be next year sometime. Hopefully, I'll have work and all that then, so I can keep myself as is.

I'd like it now, to have my own space. It wouldn't be perfect I imagine, this city of mine is rather expensive. So we'll see. Although all of that, until it happens is conjecture. I cannot afford to rest on me laurels or whatever.

Anyway, I'm feeling beat down and washed up right now. So I'm off to eat some chocolate biscuits. If I can find them... somebody's 'alf inched 'em.

Sunrise, sunset.

From my mates garden first thing in the morning.

Whilst we were stuck in the car park after his car decided not to start again.

Sunset from my mates garden.

Cork

I nearly forgot to post them...