Mardy Crepeys

[SheherazadeSchadenfreude]

Done it...

[Stropperella]

It's a bugger of a situation and very traumatic but she sounds like she has a lot of fight left in her yet.

[bigTillyMint]

QQ, that is indeed a very sad situation. But I agree with Stropps, she doesn't seem to be giving up easily.

[SheherazadeSchadenfreude]

I need to go to work, and am still in my pyjamas. I hate my job at the moment, and appear to be the scapegoat for anything that goes wrong. I was told the other day "We don't see you as a project manager; you're really just an extra pair of helping hands."

[NUFC69]

Oh dear, MrsS . I am not a violent person, but at times like this all I would want to do is bop them one. So many people unhappy with their work life and/or colleagues. If it was the evening I would suggest a restorative G and T, but not appropriate at this time of day - I would be hitting the chocolate I think. Good luck with rest of your day.

[herbaceous]

Maybe we should stage a crepey intervention, corner Bitch Boss in her office and give her a damned good talking to.

All this kind of shit makes me realise I never want to work in an office again.

Is there no way you can leave and get another job Mrs S? You are truly multi-talented.

My ankle isn't getting much better. Very sore around the actual ankle bone. I'm hoping it's because that's where the ligaments attach, rather than because I've done a tiny fracture.

Guilty this morning. DS wouldn't put his shoes on, wouldn't put his eye in, etc etc, and I shouted and ranted about being late for school, not helped by things falling of shelves, stuff being in the way, etc, at the wrong moment. Not his fault - I should just get up earlier.

[SheherazadeSchadenfreude]

Thanks, NU. I went to the doctor to get my stitches removed, so am having a cup of tea before heading into the office.

I am half-heartedly thinking of applying to do an MA in creative writing - Birkbeck's website says that they will waive the requirement of a good honours degree "if you can demonstrate exceptional talent." But I don't think I could face the rejection if they said, well, no, actually, this isn't up to scratch.

[Blackduck]

Ouch MrsS I think I'd have decked her......
I am waiting on the dentist and yhen WFH. I am already missing my old boss and he's only been gone a couple of days!

[motherinferior]

MrsS:

(a) you could do that MA standing on your head
(b) think about whether you need it/where to do it - seriously, friend did the MA in creative non-fiction at Goldsmith's, I think it is, and said it was good but told me it probably wouldn't be worth my time - and I'm no towering genius at the old writing lark
(c) consider whether what you do need is just time and space to write (there's been some interesting stuff on the Guardian website about this)...

Herbs, there are days like that when a household is under strain. Write it off and start again. I had some guilt-inducing phases of screaming appallingly at my two in the morning.

[motherinferior]

Oh and Herbs, give the ankle a rest. Don't run on it till it's better.

[herbaceous]

I shan't be running on it, no. But DS insisted he wanted to walk to school today (I've been driving the past few days due to cripple-age) and it didn't do ankle much good.

Have a dear little man here at the mo, tuning the shonky old piano recently given to us by a friend. Piano tuner is in the choir, and has insisted he doesn't want paying, but it's going to take hours. Pressing cash into his hand seems a bit sordid. But he's quite godly, so not even sure he drinks, making a bottle of something a bit tricky.

[hattymattie]

Morning all - Just read the Jo Harris article - what with this, and various things happening to friends, I'm becoming more and more aware how life hangs by a thread and how grateful I should be to be in reasonable health. I found my mother very frail recently and along with everybody else beginning to dread losing parents - DH and I are in the happy position of still having both our parents.

Mrs S - I remember when you wrote a funny Fifty Shades type of thing on a thread - I thought it was rather good - give it a try - I'm sure loads of great authors haven't got honours degrees.

Herb's - half pulled ligaments off the ankle bone once - it felt like electric shocks when touched. I echo the advice to not do anything until it's definitely better.

I think I'm definitely going to have to have braces on my teeth - I have an occluded canine which has started being weird so they're going to have to try and pull it down - something apparently they couldn't do when I was young. I asked if they could take it out and they said that would leave a great hole in the gum necessitating a bonegraft . I'm going to be wearing braces with DS - oh joy.

[Stropperella]

Make the piano tuner a cake, herbs :) And think about getting that ankle x-rayed, just to be on the safe side.

MrsS, there was a blurb on Radio 4 this morning about Creative Writing courses because Hanif Kureishi has said they're a waste of time. I wouldn't know a Creative Writing course from a non-creative one, but his take on it was interesting. Especially as he runs one. A lot of people at your workplace appear to have done a special course in How to Suck the Joy out of Life. And got an A*.

[herbaceous]

I've agreed to come and tootle my bassoon at his music group, but a cake is a brilliant idea stropps. He really is so sweet.

< googles piano-themed cakes >

[motherinferior]

Agree re reasonable health. It's one of the reasons I have taken to Ladyjogging, in desperate attempt to shore off the Ravages of Time.

[herbaceous]

Something like this shouldn't take a jiffy.

[hattymattie]

Just for the record - my piano tuner costs 100 euros - for about 3/4 hour and a Chopin nocturne which is his test piece at the end - he's played it every year for the past 5 years - I'm wondering if he can actually play anything else.

[hattymattie]

ooh er Herbs - cake worth about 100 euros.

MI - I try to shore off the ravages of time with lots of posh cream

[herbaceous]

He's going to be hear at least two hours. When he arrived, I offered him a variety of parking permits and he said 'I'll get a two-hour one, to start with'. Lunch may have to be offered....

[QueenQueenie]

Yeah, you could knock that up no problem Herbs...
I didn't know you were a bassoon playing person. My dh is one of those (or was in the mists of time).
I so agree Hattie and MI. It is a good thing not to take health and wellbeing for granted, to be truly grateful for it.

[Stropperella]

100 Euros!! Mine costs £50. Dh is now muttering about "having a go myself". Not if I have anything to do with it. I've had that piano 40 years and whilst it's always been a bit of a honky-tonk, at least it works. Which it won't do if he tries honing his nascent piano-tuning skills on it.

Herbs, you can totally knock that cake together before the end of the morning, no sweat.

[herbaceous]

And yes. I took up ladyjogging when I could no longer ignore the evidence of how exercise wards off so many hideous ravages, including perhaps Alzheimers.

Crikey, this piano's in a bad way. Each note has to be wrenched up at least a semi-tone.

And yes! I bassooned a lot as a gal. Grade 8 at 16, played in semi-professional shows, got paid, all that. It was a toss-up whether to go to music college or university. I did the latter.

The bassoon is now languishing, in desperate need of overhauling, in the study.

Can you tell I'm putting off writing my feature? It's about town centre redevelopments in Hillingdon.

[QueenQueenie]

The glamour!
I too am sitting at my desk rather halfheartedly writing something that is in fact rather urgent...

[hattymattie]

I have very lazily migrated to a sunny corner of the sofa and am loath to move, the rest of the house feels distinctly chilly.

[motherinferior]

I am juggling several things none of which are urgent - except the one commission which has come in and IS urgent and I'm not doing - but all of which will be urgent if I don't pull my finger out. I have the excitement of Aldi too.

[NUFC69]

Ta da - I have a very clean house and, more trumpets, clean windows in two rooms.

Herbs, have you had your ankle xrayed? One of my three ankle fractures also involved a chipped bone. Nowhere near as painful as a break, I think, but was still very sore. If I had a pound for every occasion I shouted at DC I would be a very rich woman. Looking at DD's parenting style I now realise that I was far too volatile, but it hasn't done any harm long term, so just start again. And, let's be honest, children do know how to press their parents' buttons.

Do watch your exercise, by the way.
I am convinced my bad knees are the result of jogging and playing badminton (although being over weight didn't help).