UPDATED! plus hearting!

well, busy danie certainly is busy! let me tell you about it!

work has been iffy. it has been manic and last week i was on a big rush to get lots of things done because i am off this week. the office will actually fall apart without me there if everything is not perfectly orchestrated, so i had to make a lot of lists and have a lot of meetings to make sure nothing got too out of control in my absence.

i am in the middle of a bit of a depressive episode, which made all of the above fun and joyous for everyone involved.

by the time friday rolled around i ended up snapping at satankim in quite a sassy manner which, initially she said would result in a meeting with her, me and her boss, Judith (who is lovely, extraordinarily quiet and oh-so-beautiful). upon her exit from my office i spent a bit of time weeping and feeling all poopy. satankim than retired to a completely different meeting... i seized this as the perfect time to approach judith and talk to her about how satamkim makes me feel (incredibly small, stupid and like i can never, ever do anything right) and we discussed how i am doing mentally and emotionally overall (NOT well... a big, stinky pile of weepy). she was really lovely and we ended up not having the other meeting.

now i am off and OMG it has been non-stop. the in-laws showed up friday afternoon and, as it had been a while since husband saw them, the obivous script for the evening would feature much drinking which would, in turn, alienate danie. this is because i am absolutely terrified of drinking too much on my new medication. the evening worked out as planned and my weep-fest continued with me on my own in the lounge, luckily. it was nice in some ways because that meant husband had people to entertain him and i had a bit of a break.

saturday featured shopping and general prancing. we just sat around town and i felt it necessary to apologise over and over again to my mother-in-law for how i had been acting. she's a psychiatric nurse, so she knows all about what i am going through from a clinical point of view, so she just shrugged it off.

sunday was a delightful day that saw us go to a giant and somewhat delapitated stately home nearby. it was incredibly beautiful. we walked and walked and walked and i really enjoyed it.

monday rolled around and we were meant to leave for wiltshire as soon as i got out of my doctor's appointment in the afternoon but after a great deal of discussion and teetering back and forth, it was decided that we would stay in derby... this was for several reasons... they can be seen listed as follows:

• we are quite short on money and would thusly be stuck doing VERY cheap or free things.
• chris had had enough of his parents and worried that if we were to go down and spend much more time with them he might kill one of them or himself.
• there was a chance that my doctor's appointment would have resulted in me being put on new medication, which wouldn't have been a great deal of fun in a new house and around lots of new/not-so-familiar people.
• we had a substantial number of fishy deaths which left us worrying for john's sanity in taking care of them whilst we were away.

because we didn't go to wiltshire, i have been able to seize a massive amount of opportunities, which i would have most likely regretted missing out on in the long-run. these include the following:

• my very first PAID cupcake job! one of my friends has asked me to bake 50 cakes for a little party she is having for her chorale group. i has an excited. it all feels very official and like something i want to make sure i keep doing for a very long time.
• i am getting to help one of my friends on a short film today and tomorrow. today was just a short day of waiting around, helping set up the set and stuff, but tomorrow will be MUCH more fun and will involve me arriving at the set for seven in the morning and being the wardrobe girl for the two actors. i will be in charge of making sure their costumes are consistent and perfect at all times. i will be doing this until eight at night and them coming home to sleep for OMGbakingfuntime!
• stuffing liam! our guinea pig died last week and whilst it was a sad loss, i am very excited to have my first chance to attempt taxidermy. yay!
• book my tickets for my next trip to janeytown! **scree**

well, that's it. busy and very emotionally up and down. eh.

a short list of things i heart...

• cat power
• watching the fish
• hollyoaks
• feeling important
• ice in my drink on a hot day
• ice lollies
• doughnuts
• taxidermy
• sleeping in (which i may be able to do again, one day)
• the last video of michael jackson rehearsing
• computer games
• knowing that i can now knit, despite being stupidly slow
• my crocheted phone!
• going through old playhouse wardrobe rooms
• john goncalves
• jarvis cocker

-end-

i heart things and things tuesdays... i heart hearting

so, in a time when being positive is incredibly hard, it is nice to make myself take the time to think about and make myself realise that there are indeed some things in life that i really love, even if i am in the middle of hating most things... the list this week is as follows:

• the fact that we have a fish that sulks like a baby when we clean his tank! chikatilo (to be known as chik from now on) is our newest and most fabulous fish. he is an oscar who was a bit of an impulse buy but has ended up making a beautifuly lovely talking and viewing point in our dining room. all of that is beside the point though. what i am here to talk about is the fact that, as a species, oscars tend to 'play dead' or 'sulk' when they feel frightened. chik is no different. every single time we clean his tank he falls into deep sulk-mode which tends to prompt husband and me to shout to one another 'OMG is he totally dead? should we just throw him in the bin?!' which, of course, is all in jest as we are aware that he is living if only because he still moves his eyes around. sunday when i cleaned the tank was no different, as he immediately 'died.' i thought it would be fun to see what he would do if i covered him in gravel, which led to him just lying there looking as though he had been tucked in for a good night's sleep. he is most definitely the most precious of precious men.
• the fact that husband is building a bike for me! that's right, danie will maybe be mobile in a faster way soon. ever since husband got his new bike he has been harassing me to start riding his old bike which i insist is far too large for me. i am still insistent that it is too large for me but i am being persuaded by the fact that he tossed lots of pots of paint in front of me and demanded i choose what colour i want it. since then he has completely taken the bike apart, sanded, cleaned and painted it. he is, at this very moment outside slathering it in silver paint which will no doubt make the flapper pink-ness of it even better.
• ROSEANNE! so, i have now downloaded every single episode ever of roseanne and have been consuming it in small doses. i will never, ever be able to get over how nostalgic and happy this show makes me. i have been trying to watch it with husband but he really doesn't get it. i suspect this is either due to the fact that he is not american or because his mum was not an exact replica of roseanne.
• the new eels album! which is just the greatest, most special album ever. i mean, how can you not love an album that has a song with lyrics like the following...

The longing is a pain A heavy pressure on my chest It rarely leaves And my day becomes a quest To try not to think about here And all that she brings Forget about her magic All the beautiful things Surely there are other things to life But I can't think of one single thing That matters more Than just to see her Her smile Her touch Her smell Her laugh The longing is a friend A way to stay close And feel like she's here And feel like she knows That when I say I would die for her it's not just words I really would And to make the world a safer place for her Well, I believe I really could Surely there are other things to life But I can't think of one single thing That matters more Than just to see her To see her Her tears Her sorrow Her faults Her doubts

• the fact that i won my very first piece of taxidermy on ebay! yeah, that's right! i won a fabulously stuffed mink that is mounted on a wooden shield. i am more excited than anything ever to receive it and place it on the wall in my lounge.
• the fact that satankim stopped being satan for a short while! true story... since i had to have a couple of days off because of the effects of my medication, satankim was delightfully cautious around me. although it only lasted a couple of days, it was well appreciated. she has since reverted to her satanic ways, but the reprieve was nice.

Honourable Mentions!
Twix, getting letters, taxidermy, polka-dots, motown music, clarissa explains it all, foreign money, ash-beast!, chevy, awful horror films, husband, my lists, when people get excited and start participating in my lists, katy perry, Challis, stretching my ears

picture THIS!

A picture of you in your room:

A picture of you posing with someone you don't actually like:

it is not immediately noticeable, but the creatures behind and on either side of me are my arch enemies. the one to the left of me is my boss, satankim, and the one to the right is AMY who asks to many scrutinizing questions that i want to stick pencils in my ears.

A picture with a former crush:

ah yes, cock-face the magnificent. him and me at the prime of our love-fest. fucking dick.

A picture of you with a parent or two:

a fabulous photo of pretty much the whole family the summer husband came to visit america. from left to right you have my mum, my sister ladonna, me niece paige, me, husband, my nephew evan and my other sister carmen. sadly, this is the only photo i have of me with my mum with me as a grown up.

A picture of you on your birthday:

my birthday last year in slovakia. i was horrifically drunk and dancing with this precious elderly man who immediately became un-precious as soon as he drunkenly started to thrust at me and grunt during this dance. **shudder**

The youngest picture you can find of yourself in digital form:

this is officially the first photo of me evar. what a preciously fat baby!

A picture of you showing off a new haircut:

not so much a new haircut as an abomonation.

A picture of you truly being yourself:

The most recent picture of you:

A picture you're tagged in on Facebook that you aren't actually in:

i was tagged in this photo because i am the one who made his hairs blue. i heart them!

A picture of a time in your life that's over, but you wish it wasn't:

i miss when jane and i were really close and visited each other more often. good fuck i miss this!

i miss the summer that made me who i am. ashley, prancing, thrifting and generally being completely in love with everything, ever.

i miss when all of us were close. when nobody lived in different countries and we got kicked out of pubs for being too happy.

A picture of a time in your life that's over, and you couldn't be more thankful that it is:

jenni and me in poland. although she was amazing and we had lots of fabulous times, i am glad that that particular type of poison has left my life.

A picture with your oldest friend:

jessica and danie circa 1994?

A picture with your newest friend:

jaacq! OMG he is the most fabulous new friend everyone could have. i could squeeze him to death.

A picture of you that you had no idea was being taken:

A picture you taking a shot/chugging a beer/downing some sort of mixed drink:

i don't actually have any photos of me in the process of drinking but i DO have photos of me being precious with my favourite beast pre-sip. GOD i miss you ashley!

A picture of you with someone you love:

A picture that describes how you'd like to spend every day:

just being out of control, pleased and covered with joy from my friends.

A picture that makes your heart hurt:

this was one of the last times we hung out before jerry died. i miss his face so much.

A picture that makes your heart smile:

this is my favourite photo ever in the world. ever.

Baked and destroyed

well, for the love of god i took long enough to update, didn't i?! for anybody who actually takes the time to read this, i really, honestly do apologise. i promised myself every morning that as soon as i left work that evening i would come and get on the computer to post a blog. obviously, that never happened... but here i am now. has it really been three freaking months?! i actually can't believe it! let's re-cap what has been happening these last few months, shall we?

March

• i generally just slowly bobbed along, trying to make sure i didn't bump into anything that would make my life more horrible than it needed to be.
• i got a letter form Dr Denny in response to my previously posted letter, which generally said i was lying and that he was referring me onto a new consultant. YAY!
• Satankim went off work for a month! her holiday began march 17th and she went to Australia on a holiday she did nothing but complain about for the two months prior to her flight-date. her holiday featured TWO cruises and endless tours all over the land i oh-so-badly want to visit.
• i was introduced to the glorious band that is Andrew Jackson Jihad who as just the most witty, funny, dancy, fabulous band ever! look them up immediately!

April

• Jerryfest FINALLY happened and it featured a massive amount of glorious dancing, prancing and eating.
• i baked 100 cupcakes at the Aga shop for Jerryfest and made everyone happier than they knew it was possible to be.
• had an unexpectedly longer visit from claire and mark due to Ryanair being satan (they got to the airport and checked in then waited for their flight. the boarding call occurred, everyone began boarding and then the flight people just STOPPED boarding with six people left. the flight was not full, they just didn't feel like boarding anymore people, i guess.). so they came back to ours and we pranced for several days in a musical flurry.
• we got a new guinea pig who is a stupendously precious creature who i bought only on a whim when i saw her cowering in the corner of an entirely empty cage. the backstory of her life is as such

once upon a time, there was a tiny princess-like guinea pig born who was yet to be named. she was ginger and incredibly cuddly but she was also the tiniest little guinea pig of the litter. all the other pigs hated her and made fun of her tiny face and her even tinier feet. she just continued to prance and dig in the hay, knowing that one day she would be loved.
-ENTER DANIE- 4:45pm, Pets at Home, Derby, UK

the shop had been open all day, all her brothers and sisters had been sold within a timely manner and an excitable american pranced in and sees her tiny, beautiful red eyes and knows that she must be hers.

and to be honest, that was the end of that story and the beginning of a new one. she is tiny and we called her Chopper... named because of her tiny ears which had been mostly chewed off by her siblings due to her small size and bizarre social habits. initially, she was tiny and awkward with the other two ladies, but she has now become one of the family. she is the noisiest of all of our pets and the most fabulously lovely as well (bar chevy, of course!)

• the show that was filmed last JULY finally aired and it was exciting. it was only an hour-long show that was meant to be a look at the drinking habits of females of all ages but our bit was about twelve minutes long and oh-so-fabulous! i had a lot of air-time due to my being american and having the ability to discuss the difference in drinking habits between here and the states. it was incredibly exciting.
• i was harassed constantly with phrases such as 'hey, aren't you that girl from the telly?!' and 'didn't i see you on t.v. the other night?' to which i always blurted in the most excited manner that i could that i was, indeed the female from telly and they should all fawn after me as i am now famous.
• Satankim returned from Australia with nay a postcard or foreign treat. bitch.
• we celebrated Easter in a very special fashion by having a brilliant easter-basket swap and meal. the meal was bountious and i baked a cake that ended up actually being the greatest carrot cake that has ever been baked or eaten by anybody, ever.
• i got my newest and most loved tattoo of the moment for Jerry.
• we got a new printer/scanner/photocopier which has made it possible for me to FINALLY put all my lists up and print things in colour! be jealous!

MAY!

• i had my very first appointment with my new consultant, dr gillespie. he is a REALLY lovely man who immediatly apologised for the problems i have been having with dr denny and said that it is clear i need help and he is going to give it to me.
• i had an interview as directorate secretary for surgical services at the hospital which went incredibly well but i did not get the job for.
• i went out on a stupendous evening with jaacq, powers, lee lee and everyone else. an evening which was amazing for many reasons.... 1) i LOVE seeing my jaacq! 2) i got to see ali's new band, dulcinea, play for the first time (fabulous!) 3) it was like EVERYONE was out and i just got to prance around and feel normal for a while. overall, it was just the best night in a while. i loved it.

• EUROVISION!
• we got a new video card which has made my life about 800,000,000,000 times better. this is because i can now fully immerse myself in games such as spore (!!!), Sims 2 (PLUS expansion packs), stubbs the zombie and diablo 2 (which isn't really as a result of the video card, we just remembered to download it again)
• i went to see 'drag me to hell' with powers. that film is actually a bag of crap and i have never been so disappointed with a film in my life.
• i started a new anti-depressant. we shall see.
• we got the new fishy!! husband and i had a random outing to a big fish shop near our house and saw a flurry of oscars (a breed we have been lusting after for some time now. the only reason we have avoided getting one until now is because they get HUGE and need a big tank.). we pretty much instantly fell in love and picked the most handsome of the bunch to come live with us. he was put into the old tank and named Chikatilo (after my favourite serial killer)
• we moved into the new building at work. it was a sad day, but the new building is REALLY huge and lovely. i like it a lot!
• i emailed augusten burroughs on the off-chance, to see if he would be willing to write me a list and HE REPLIED!!!

JUNE!!!

• i went to see 'coraline' with powers and lee lee. it was fairly exciting, mostly due to the fact that it was the first 3d film i have ever been to. i wanted to steal the glasses but they had glasses nazis at all exits so at to prevent miscreants like myself from popping them into my bag.
• i had my first appointment with my new CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse) who is rather lovely. she says that although it seems it is clear i have depressive problems, i appear to have control over it and knowing when i need to get help and there is not a lot she can do for me. she will keep seeing me for another month and then see where we are.
• we got a new, giant fish tank which has made our lives about a million times better. we have put Chik in it and the giant catfish.
• i have started taking chevy out into the garden with a lead on. he is mostly delighted about it. i am attempting to train him in the art of being well-behaved so i can take him to the park on the lead eventually. husband will have no part of this.

and that's it. my life in a general nutshell.

i PROMISE i will keep you up-to-date more often and better from now on, i PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE!!!!

i know why the caged bird sings....

and i really do, yes, i do.

i have been existing recently on a plane of emo with only one destination, 'depressionville.' well, the flight landed and despite the fact that i have been waiting around for a return flight, things have been alright. when i say 'alright' though, i mean... things have been better than awful. but only marginally.

WORK
i have been running through my days at work delighted by the antics of my co-workers and barely containing myself when my boss comes in. she was off all last week, so this week she had to make up for the fact that she was not able to harass and scruitinize everything i do for a week. on top of her regular mood, she had to have a verruca attacked on her foot which left her even chillier than usual. she was seemingly only barely holding on to her last breath long enough to limp into the office to make regular jabs at my work and to task me with making the coffee for meetings going on (which is NOT my fecking job and never will be). her mood only became bareable friday, when i had a 'supervision' meeting with her, which is basically a time for me to sit with her and raise any problems i am facing and to allow her time to outline any concerns she has with me and my work... i pranced into the office with only concern due to the fact that everything i had done the prior four days had been wrong. OMG was i surprised when she came out with nothing but beautious delight RE: me and how amazingly splendid i am at getting things done and she would like to see me get some qualifications paid for by the trust. once our meeting was over she then proceeded to hobble to every office on our floor and offer to buy ice creams.
a big perk regarding my working life is that i have decided that since i am getting no 'customer contact' as it were, at my current job, i am going to chase this outside of work hours. due to this epiphany, i have applied for a part time job at LUSH. hooray!

Husband
eh, today has been splendid, but the big chunks of my time with chris are consumed by him telling me how crap i am. we had a lovely night the other night where he decided to display his frustration with me by slamming doors and punching them only to stop periodically to advise me of what a crazy bitch i am. let me tell you, i was incredibly impressed by this display. oh yes. he has decided that the best route to making our relationship better is to start having sex every day for two weeks. two days down and i mostly only want to die. i'm just not feeling it at the moment. the way he acts leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to my lady bits. he has really been trying though, which i can see... but he has been trying so much that a lot of it is coming across as patronizing and suffocating. it really is taking its toll on me. i'm just trying to figure out what is happening in my head as fast as i can to make a conscious decision about us.

alastair
whilst the biggest chunk of this has been amazing... there have been some iffy moments where i have felt like he just cannae handle having any responsibility or a schedule for doing things. this theory has most certainly been blown out of the water though, as of wednesday... wednesday found me showing up at alastair's for swimming purposes only to find his face full of glee and pleased... he asked me when he opened his door, had i gotten his message... i hadn't. he squeeled a bit and told me that he had made it to the final 50 for the orange unsigned competition! he had been living on wee pins and needles for the last several weeks, worrying if he was going to make it through or not... i knew he would. it seems as though that phone call from the orange people turned his switch to 'on' and he has really hit into a phase of wanting to get things done. as a result, we have kicked the work on his photo comic, 'johnee scisszazzz' into overdrive. i have now taken on the task of being his wee little PA, which means i will be generally helping his keep with deadlines and generally ensuring everything gets done. along with my PA duties, i have also decided to help ali with some of the costumes... one of which will be for the hero of the story who will, for a part of the story, be wearing a mask made of human skin, which i will be creating with pig skin. i am more excited than anything ever for this. i will be going and picking up the skin tuesday afternoon and will begin the curing process wednesday morning.
generally, i am really feeling quite fulfilled with this task. it gets me out of the house and lets me associate with a group of new people that seem to all be delightful.

mostly, that is everything. all my life is surrounded by work, husband and alastair at the moment.

i will be performing some baking tasks tomorrow, which will delight and mystify all. watch this space.

was i ever yours, were you ever mine?

firstly, meh.

i have been busy but not all at the same time the last week. work is still made of teh suck. it was nice because my boss (known from here on out as satankim) was out on holiday... as a result, everyone kept prancing in and chatting to me. i learned a lot about people, the biggest revelation being that i am not the only person who hates satankim. she rubs everyone the wrong way and everyone there thinks i should get out as fast as i can as working for the NHS is for the elderly and bitter. apparantly, i am a previous creature who should not let herself become tainted by the NHS and the horrors that inhabit it. so, as a result, i have been searching like a madwoman for a new job. no fruit has been born yet, but i am feeling confident.

i haven't been swimming in a few days as it seems that i have one of the most unreliable swimming buddies ever. we had a tiny bit of a falling out, actually... but only tiny. i am generally the most excited communicator ever in the world. i love to send emails and texts and IM's and the lot. especially lately, since i have been feeling so off, i have really been leaning on the support of people that will give me the time of day (ali, anna, eddie). ali has been ill for a few days and since he has been ill i have sent him a couple of texts and emails just letting him know that i am thinking about him and asking how he is. it seems though, that that was too much for him and now he is just not talking to me and has just generally been off.

it just feels like, especially with ali, that i have really been pushing myself to help him... making a lot of phone calls, helping him with his comic, tidying his house, spending time with him, swimming, giving him my old mobile so he has something to take photos with... it just seems like now he has gotten what he wanted, he is just dropping me. just cannae be bothered now he has leeched as much out of me that he can.

it really hurts, you know? i am really struggling now and i could REALLY use his support and just some hugs or ANYTHING... much like what i did for him, but he just won't. he is 'too sick' to hang out now. apparently not too sick to stay up until five in the morning posting photos of himself or anything, just too sick to have a friend who needs some TLC away from home around for a cup of tea.

it's nice to know that people are aware of what friendships are really for. i just need a friend, you know? just someone who isn't lame or unreliable. just someone who will actually do what they say and not take for granted the things that are being given to them.

relationship things are meh. we have a wondrous fight every night before bed, which is nice, because i hate sleeping anyways. he is just being overbearing and stressful to deal with and really pushing me away.

bleh. i gotta tidy. mr winn is going to be here soon.

will post more soon, i suspect.