The Crepey Cube

[cremolafoam]

How very hospitable, QQ....Many thanks and would love to come. My niece lives in Norf London, so may turn up at her door wined up! (or is that very wrong).

Hope your interview went OK, Addle.

The US/Euro cold war is imminently going to blow in the office. I am presently drafting a paper which could be subtitled

'Why you should not consider us lazy in the European offices just because we don't do everything you want us to and then shout about it'.

I'm not sure how it will be received

I need new black trousers for work (assuming I have a job next week). Dh mistook them for school trousers and put them through the wash. I slithered into them at 6am on Monday and realised they had shrunk and looked like skin tight jodhpurs. I hate buying work clothes, really hate it.

Hello all - yes Addle how did the interview go?

I am going to bin off mine on Monday - I have decided that I am probably better off where I am for now.

Ds's room is now a mess. The sparks was at the wiring and was unable to reach the fault (would have meant ripping out window seat, taking up masses of floor boards etc. So ds now has a nice pendant light he is not impressed by, but at least it works and he won't get electrocuted any time soon......

Beachy loving the sound of your paper.... I am currently drafting one called 'It would help if you lot knew what the hell you are talking about, but you don't, so read this' Our Dean has also sent out a strategy doc. I particularly liked the following (excuse the English)
"Build and maintain an excellent academic staff, that is, require genuine excellence in at least one of research, teaching and engagement and at least adequate performance in the others, or not be here." (note the last bit.....)

Meanwhile I am dealing with the (on-going) fallout of ds's bust up with his 'girlfriend' who has appeared to have decided that saying things like 'everybody in this school hates you and you have no friends' and following him around and surrounding him with her mates to pick on him and generally be unpleasant is acceptable. My heart was breaking for him last night - he thought she was a forever friend and now this......

Oh bit of an epic there....sorry....

Beachy, sorry to hear of another person having a difficult time in the office. My DH worked for quite a few American companies (lots of takeovers) - the divide then used to be the Brits and Americans v the rest of Europe. And don't get him started on the wars between the French and Germans; on the surface all entente cordial, underneath all backstabbing!

Another glorious day here - DGD coming later while her parents go house hunting so a walk will be obligatory to see if we can get her to sleep.

BD - my experience is that no-one reads instructions, ever. My colleague sent out a paper, with very clear instructions and a deadline for what people needed to produce. I think the hit rate, of getting it right first time, and on the deadline, was around 10%. A lot of people deleted it. Most missed the deadline. And a lot called us to ask "What's all this about?" without bothering to read the paper.

I have made lemon cheesecake muffins this morning and should schlep my sorry arse into work, rather than sitting slumped on the sofa with tea.

BD, where do these people come from - is there a special college or uni where they are trained? You have my sympathies.

And very sorry to hear about DS 's awful girlfriend; as we all know girls can be incredibly bitchy and unpleasant. I think teenage boys can be vulnerable in a way most girls aren't (and particularly with regard to their love life). I hope he (and you) come through it ok.

MrsS (I like the name change BTW) You are right I know, but we have to try....

Ohh those muffins sound delish!

thank you everyone for asking. it started with a test (fine) but on a pc with latest Word where I work on a Mac so was disaster (if I'd known, coudl easily have reminded self) and I arrived in the room for the talking bit with stress-red cheeks and mad hair. then tangled my scarf up in my hand as shaking hand goodbye so it was like shaking hands with pink and red mummy. no questions about when cld you start so am confidently expecting the worst. oh well. learning curve. and they were v nice.

Oh no, BD, that's awful that your ds is having "gf" trouble at his age. Sounds like the girl in question needs a good talking-to. Have you considered having a word with the school?

Beachy, sorry to hear your work trousers, but it's made me see an upside to having a dh who would be no more likely to put a wash on than paint his nails: at least I've only got myself to blame for any laundry disasters.

Beachy - I happened to notice that Sainsbury's is chock full of fairly decent-looking work trousers ATM. They even call them 'cigarette pants', which is rather on trend.

I rashly bought a pleather pencil skirt in there yesterday. It was a mere £11, in the sale, but rather fear it makes me look like a trollop.

Thanks for kind wishes re FiL. He seems in good spirits, though this hospital bed is opposite the world's most irritating man. DP and his sisters bought FiL a radio so he can be drowned out.

Back to single parenthood. DP was out yesterday evening, to Dublin today and tomorrow, and out Friday night. I was supposed to be going too, but all our usual babysitters are booked up, so looks like another thrilling evening in front of the box for me. Or perhaps I could do something useful, like apply for the PGCE I've decided to do.

Addle, it might still turn out ok!

Herbs, what flavour of PGCE?

The post-compulsory one with a diploma to enable teaching literacy or ESOL. Funding is apparently available...

Nothing wrong with looking like a trollop, Herbs.

Also, Rudy, can I re-pick your brains about Italy? DP wants to go there in the summer, and you had fabulous suggestions and we've done bog-all about it...

If we get to 1,000 messages - or anything near it - by next Tuesday we have to have a thread title about Crepey Mardi, btw.

Herbs- good for you re pgce and trollop skirt. Not two things I would put in the same sentence normally
Beachy - oh misery re reduced trousers. Can second Sainsbo's selection and their rather generous sizing which always puts me in a better mood.
Bd - good luck with the staff-coaxing missive. I am forever writing these things/ pinning them to notice boards and they are generally ignored until they drop of the board and recycled by the cleaners.
Addle- feel your interview frustration.
The perspiration was dripping down my cleavage. I think they could sense my fear.

Another day, another eye patch . Nurse Nancy says must channel Gabrielle for another 3 ( three III) days.

Interesting, Herbs. I have been looking at that sort of area too. Not that I can afford to do (another) PGCE, but am looking at possibly going back to teaching, but at FE level. Am wondering about how my quals stack up in relation to the entrance requirements, though, as none of my own post-16 quals are in English or Maths.

I tried on a pair of Sains trews yesterday, and found their sizing not as generous as I would like. A 12 was STILL too small. I fear this may not entirely be Sainsbury's fault.

I did buy trollop skirt in a 12, however, as it was tartily tight. Rather than the 14 which was so big it looked like a bin bag.

Ha! I've found a link to prozzie skirt.

Ah yes, that's charmingly trollopy.

Herbs, a trolloppy pleather skirt is NOT appropriate for a budding PGCE student!
I may venture up to our local Sainsbos after work...

Addle, fingers crossed. If not it's good experience!

BD sorry your DS is getting the treatment. Girls can be absolutely horrid.

Cremo, did you not wipe your sweated brow with your eyepatch?

Have dropped the sewing machine with the man. Fingers crossed.

My client (only) is not answering emails, so I have nothing work-wise to do. Will still charge for my time, mind you.

To assuage boredom, I'm going through old paperwork in the study. I've kept a load of press releases from my first job on an engineering magazine, where my similarly childish colleague and I used to highlight any word with even the most tenuous double entendre. Looking at them again makes me cry with laughter.

Press releases about machine tools were a particular favourite. Highlighted words/phrases include 'robot grippers', 'two-finger', 'handling long workpieces', 'mounting', 'punishing schedules', and even, indeed, 'press' and 'release'. Or 'model'.

'Moving jaw', 'abnormally large components', 'leaking flanges'...

Try keeping a straight face when the (really lovely) camp cookery ed on a glossy refers to a 'meat thermometer' in an ideas meeting. Ho yes.

or maybe that's just me?

And I won't even return to the topic of Briefs...I pride myself on a tight brief, personally.

It was the lengths we went to to find double entendres that makes me chuckle. Sometimes I'd highlight one, and colleague would go through it with a different highlighter, pointing out 'vice' or 'one off jobs'.

Herbs, you would have a ball (ha!) with the text that dh is editing this afternoon: it is full of knobs and shafts.