In the evening

Food
Today’s post is a little late because I decided to drive home tonight. I had a few different motivations.1) I feel like driving at night is less of a waste than driving in the day
2) I was missing Boyfriend
3) I wasn’t sleeping well at my parents’ house (I have no idea why)
4) There is a badass meteor shower which I thought was tonight, and I wanted to see it with Boyfriend.

But it turns out that the meteor shower (which is called the Perseids meteor shower if you were wanting something google-able) is actually going to be most impressive tomorrow night, not to mention it’s cloudy and raining, so instead I find myself in my living room at 11.30 pm staring at this:

Which is a Devil’s Food Cake, because I’m watching something called “Baking with Martha” or “Martha’s Baking Time” or “Learn to Bake with Martha” or something with Martha. You get the idea.
Did I mention I’m on a diet?
Despite the quest to lose a few of my less necessary pounds of padding, I can’t give up my one big vice, which is Good Food channel. I’m doing well at monitoring my calorie intake and I’ve (so far) been disciplined when it comes to amping up my workout routine, but in the evenings I still have a tendency to sink salivating into the sofa (you came for the alliteration, right?) and indulge in a hearty helping of Good Food. It’s heavenly.

 

Orford Castle and the Oregon Trail

Travel
I didn’t mention yesterday, but I’m currently down visiting my parents for a weekend. It’s always nice to come back to their house because although it’s not really my “home” any more (I’m just too attached to my own things, not least the far more sensible way that I arrange my fridge) it’s still comfortable to be here.We decided to spend the day out at Orford, which is a small town on the Suffolk coast. It’s not been the most stunning weather of late, but the forecast wasn’t shocking so we decided that we’d brave it. It was incredibly worth the effort. Orford is a lovely town, very quaint and with an adorable quay where we stopped for a crab sandwich and a look at the boats. From there we went on a little stroll before heading back to Orford Castle.

Orford Castle Keep (borrowed from English Heritage)

All that is left of the castle now is the keep, but it used to be a Motte and Bailey – which you will remember if you have recently been to a year 6 history lesson is a solidly built stone keep on top of a hill with an outer wall at the bottom of the hill, for defensive purposes.

The castle looks small from the outside, and to be honest we weren’t sure it was worth the price. But we went for it anyway, and I am so glad we did. Even though it’s quite bare on the inside it absolutely comes alive when you start listening to the audio guide (which is free!). You’re lead around the castle by a woman with a great radio voice and the Chaplain of the castle who is good for a few laughs. In 40 minutes I felt like I’d learnt the whole history of the castle without getting bored once. Not to mention there is a fantastic view from the top.
Oh, and I mentioned the Oregon Trail in the title.
The reason I’ve got the Oregon Trail on the brain is because one of the perks of staying with my parents is that I get to re-explore our collection of books, which happens to include one of my childhood favourites, a diary of a 13 year old girl on the Oregon Trail. I love anything historical and the Oregon Trail has always fascinated me because I can’t imagine having the bravery to pack my life into a wagon and move into what was basically uncharted territory (at least for the farming folk who decided to do the packing up and the moving). I’m not sure manifest destiny is something I can really approve of because I have too many “views”, but the stories still amaze me.
If you don’t know anything about it, get finding out, because it’s really fascinating.

It’s been a while

Life
So I logged onto here after an age of not thinking about blogging, and realised that while I lived in Morocco I was quite the avid blogger.I also remembered that I really enjoyed it.

So what-ho, might as well start again. Welcome back to my life (this directed at the three followers which I apparently have – who knew!)

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So having made the decision to get back into blogging, it is obviously necessary to have content, something which I don’t currently have. But I’ll work on it. Meanwhile, here’s a squirrel.

Ok, now at least you remember that you were pulled here because of my legendary drawing skills.

 

Twilight

Fun
Don’t worry, I’m not dead. I got a job, and then consequently got really busy for a little while. I’ve had a lot of training, a few sessions of shadowing, and my second solo session is on Thursday (but it will be the first time I have driven it by myself. No pressure or anything)

So yes, I’ve been busy. Also, let’s not forget that it has been Freshers. That hasn’t meant being out drunk every night, by any means, but it has meant being very tired out from seeing people, visiting people, and trying to fit work and Uni around that. And also deal with things like my washing machine randomly cutting out. And our internet doing the same. Thank goodness for mobile access-points.

Anyway, I need to go and tidy some washing, and wash my hair, and do other important things. But, I do recommend that everyone watch the following set of videos. I have never felt the need to read Twilight, because essentially it seems to be about a sparkly vampire who everyone is in love with. This guy has been my only window into the world of Twilight, and while it hasn’t made me any more interested in reading the books, it has made me interested in watching more of his stuff. Enjoy.

Alex reads Twilight

Sally Gets a Job: Part 4

Life
So, where was I?

I applied to Asda. It was a bit last-ditch because the store is a half-hour away, and I don’t really want to work on the shop floor because I’m experienced in complaints and customer services. But I applied anyway. The Asda application service is just one big Asda advert. At one point in the process they actually give you a set of figures about the awesome price of Asda products compared to other supermarkets and make you work out the differences. I wasn’t impressed, it all seemed a little bit shameless.

At this point (a week ago) I was beginning to think I stood no chance of getting a job at all.

Then this happened:
Firstly, I stopped into a coffee shop near home yesterday with a friend. And they wanted people to work there. So I handed in my CV to a guy who seemed really keen to hire me. Admittedly I haven’t heard back, but still.
Secondly, today I  had my interview at Mad Science. And I got the job! At least, I got it verbally and I’m waiting on an e-mail confirmation. But it looks like the ideal job for me, so mission=success! Hallelujah.

Sally Gets a Job: Part 3

Life
Having got the interview for Mad Science, I continued on my hunt for a job with more regular hours. This lead me to the Leeds University Union Joblink page, a dedicatred site specially for students of Leeds looking for work in the area. It was difficult to use, because nothing actually pointed out that I had to sign in before I could access the job descriptions. I spent a long time going in circles. But eventually I worked it out, in time to look at the perfect job.

Part-time Library Assistant


Yes! thought I. Mother is a librarian so I’ve been in and around libraries all my life, and if you can navigate Leeds’ “special” cataloguing system (lord knows what issue they had with Dewey decimal…) then you can do any cataloguing system in the world. Also, it was just 2 week nights, and a Saturday morning. Ideal.

But here is the crunch. Got to have an A-level in Music. Oh GCUS, why did you stop offering music A-level just as I made it to 6th form? The reason for this odd requirement is that the job is at the Music College, and so of course you need a decent knowledge of music to be able to help the students get what they need. So strike that off the list as another job which is almost-but-not-quite for me. 

Sally Gets a Job: Part 2

Life
So I didn’t manage the council mentoring, but I checked online, and found another amazing job, this time with a company called ‘Mad Science’. They send presenters to schools and kids’ parties to do science for them. It sounds like my dream job, I cannot tell a lie. So I applied.

And they got back to me right away, and offered me an interview.

But I was in Italy. BUMMER. Thankfully they were happy to give me a new date, and so that interview is coming my way on Monday morning, so you can all wish me luck with that.

Check them out at http://www.madscience.org/ 

There is more though. So much more. Even though I had this interview, no reason not to apply for something with more reliable hours. I found a job at the Student Union, working in the Student Advice Centre. I thought that since I’ve got a good background in customer services, and working with people, and also since I’m a student, I’d be quite well qualified for this post. Apparently they thought otherwise, as I didn’t even get shortlisted.

Better luck in part 3? 

Sally Gets a Job: Part 1

Life
Let me tell you what has happened so far, in my quest for a job.

I began with a simple plan. I wanted to get a part-time job, on weekday evenings, working about 15 hours a week, for minimum wage or above. I wanted to avoid weekends, because after a year in Morocco, I relish the idea of having the time to visit my family and friends, and spend time with Boyfriend.

I have past experience working in retail and with children in a teaching type position, so I looked there first. I was thwarted at my very first attempt.

THE BALLAD OF COUNCIL MENTORING
I applied to be a mentor
For some local kids in care
I thought I’d be a certain choice
Because I could get there
And had all relevant experience
But Alas, twas not to be
Thought I applied before the deadline
The woman didn’t get back to me
Until the deadline had been reached
And had the nerve to say
“Well, the deadline was actually today, and it would be wise to apply before the deadline in future if you are serious about getting the job”
So, despite applying in good time, I missed out on the job at the Council. Their loss. 

Humble Apologies

Life
I know, I know. It’s been a long time. I always hoped I would never do this, because I find it so annoying when the blogs which I enjoy following suddenly decide to stop posting. But Life does tend to get in the way a little bit, and I’ve had a busy summer. Here is my timetable.June – July: British Council Times in Rabat
July: Cyprus with Boyfriend and his family
August: Italy with Mother for a lovely week spent in the beautiful city of Florence
August: Edinburgh Fringe Festival with Boyfriend. Full of funny people
August – Now: Leeds

Now then. I have had a long and lovely summertime, filled with sun, sea, comedy and baguette express (the nicest paninis I have ever tasted).

But, I cannot lie. From mid-August until now, I’ve had no excuse for not posting more often. I have been moving house into the new Leeds place, trying to find a job, and getting everything fixed up. It’s been tiring and stressful, and so I’ve not really engaged well with the rest of the world. This was not helped by the fact that there have been loads of robberies in our area. All in all, it’s not been the most fun in the world.

But this shall change. I plan on getting back to posting more often for all you lovely people, and to begin with, I’ll let you into my fun fun job search experience.

Once again

Off the face of the Earth

Life, Rant
I had such good intentions when I left Morocco. I thought I could keep up blogging. I was wrong. The rest of the world is just so exciting, how can I have time?For example, I just left this on for 30 minutes because I had something else to do.

Back now though. So I am back from Cyprus, which was lovely, and once again, pictures to follow. Boyfriend took them all on his phone so it’s about bullying him to get them back. Anyway, the point is that it was a lovely holiday. I’m now back at home for a little while and have had a nice few day, although there is a funny story which I have for your entertainment…

Yesterday I went to Cambridge to see the outdoor Shakespeare. Shakespeare was lovely, the picnic was fantastic and the company was amazing, but the real thrill was the journey home. Essentially what happened was that as we left Cambridge, I got us lost. Which was fine, until we tried to get found again. Then came the signs. Diversion. Road ahead closed. Diversion. Frogs. Diversion. Diversion pointing the way you’ve just come. Reindeer. Two diversion signs pointing at each other. Ice. Elderly people and Ducks. Reindeer. Diversion.

It was eventful.