WWW's 10 year younger bootcamp, Oct 08, all welcome

[WideWebWitch]

Hello everyone, old and new.

This is about feeling better about yourself and looking and feeling better etc. But mainly we chat and laugh quite a lot, which has all got to help towards happiness etc.

The rules (anyone can join):

• Sunscreen at all times

• No or little booze. Wine or Champagne or whatever at the weekend is allowed if you want it

• Walking is important, a small amount every day if possible. 30 mins if you can

• Lots of water, aim for 2 litres a day

• Apply body cream as often as possible

• Use hand cream

• Go to bed early, by 10.30pm if pos

• Eat healthily

• Be happy

The idea is that we all feel happier, healthier and glow with the good food, sleep, exercise, water and lack of sun damage.

Some people are doing India and Neris's Idiot Proof Diet (Atkins, more or less), others are doing Slimy World, others are just being as healthy as possible.

Welcome everyone, have a good week.

Welcome Mrs JC!

Well done Mrs JC, a good start!

Arfy, I've looked at the cover of that book a few times, is it good? Top tips please! Not that anyone ever described me as a 'nice girl' tbh! And I don't have a corner office although am very shallow and could easily make a decision about the next job I take on the basis of

a) whether I get an office
b) whether the job title is swanky enough
c) cash, obviously

Have been called about another job with 3 days a week in MK and 2 days in London so now I want that one, not the contract I interviewed for last week. It's perm too so less £ but bettter work life balance and since that is my objective for next year, to get some of that, it would fit. I should get an interview as my skills are a v close match so aaagh hope I get THAT one, not the other one. Also have interview for well paid perm job tomorrow BUT it's next door to where I Work now so still long commute. I wouldn't even interview unless they said there was some flexibility though and they say there is, inc one day from home etc. Dh doesn't wnat me to even consider that one and he's prob right but I might as well go to the int as it's not far and see what I think.

Ate cheese, drank wine, went to bed too late last night, all big mistake as ds has earache this am so can't take his second 11+ paper. Frantic administration of calpol and ibuprofen at 7 and 8.30am didn't work, off to dr shortly. He will be allowed to re take apparently so not as bad as I feared first thing this morning. Of ALL days though.

Have finally put an ad for a cleaner in local shop so pray I get someone soon, having to do washing/cleaning last night drove me mad. Dh woke up this morning and cuddled me and sasid "I hate our weeks" and Ikw he means, they're such a treadmill. Neber mind, half way through!

Have stuffed 5 chiplotas as breakfast in between dropping dd/arranging dr/getting petrol/putting ad for cleaner/writing work emails

Good luck with the interviews www! And hope ds is better soon. How annoying though for it to be today. Glad he can retake. Your dh always sounds so lovely.

It is dh's 'meeting' this evening - so please send some good thoughts this way everyone.

good luck with interviews WWW and good look for MrTortoiseshell too

have had an OK day here but a bit scuppered by an end of period feeding frenzy. have drunk about 3 pints of water - that is VERY good for me - but not quite enough yet.

arfy, Melbourne WAS fab but I am oh so miserable now it's over and I haven't got much planned for the next few months.

you know, I am HOPELESS at anything like massasges/ body cream/pedicures - it all still feels like it's for grown up ladies and not for the likes of me. I'm 34 for goodness' sake, you'd think I'd have got out of that mindset by now!

no time to post properly as asm rushing out with ds, but please all A-ha fans, watch this

uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8HE9OQ4FnkQ

WWW - Oh horrors about DS and the earrache/11+ after all that stress and LOL @ job criteria. I'm much the same. I AM a contractor after all. I am impressed you are considering perm. I just can't face the exposure to HR and their stupid inductions and annual reviews and matrices and all the crap that goes with being perm .

The book is good, ignore the American title. There are 100 things - 'unconscious mistakes that women make' so I won't go on about them all but some that struck me were:

• It's not how hard you work. Women think they will be rewarded if they just get their head down and do the job but they won't necessarily. It's about how you do it, how you appear to do it, who knows you're doing it, what your colleagues are saying about you doing it that gets the promotion.

• It's a game of politics and men know it. Learn the unspoken rules of the office. If everybody gets in by 8.45 and leaves at 5.45, do the same. If everybody has lunch at their desk - do it. You have to play the game too and think about what everybody else is doing/planning/thinking about their own self-promotion.

• If you have a big project to do and you see all the men chatting with the boss about a big game and think they're wasting time - they're not. They're networking with the boss and he will think of them first next time something good comes up - he's got to know them through these informal chats.

• Don't be naiive - don't expect everybody to be your friend behind your back.

• Don't smile inappropriately. Women do it too much. Don't talk too much, men are much more succinct.

MrsJC - gwan, go and get yourself some reflexology in a little non-threatening/non clothes taking off local thai place. It will make you feel great! That's what this thread is about.

Having eaten 2 veggie juices and a bowl of salad vegetables today I'm going to bed to make the suffering go away.

Hi all, happy mid-week to everyone. Only two and a half days to go before the weekend!

WWW you will be delighted when I tell you I am giving India and Neris a try. A friend had the book and has leant it to me ? am on day 4. Feeling ok, trousers of truth a bit less tight today and weirdly the whites of my eyes are Very Very White!

So I am uber-healthy, eating no carbs at all but lots and lots of veg, fish, tofu and eggs. Drinking masses of water too and lots of dandelion tea which is the only herbal tea I can stomach in vast quantities. No wine at all, until next weekend. Will be glad when porridge oats are back o the agenda but I can do this ? it?s making me be much more creative and also challenging the children?s stick in the mud approach to new food ? they actually ate prawn stir fry last night which was a major achievement, especially as I slipped in some grated courgette?..

I have been away up the huff tree having a sulk about how hard life is, work, sorting out the kids? social lives while mine seems to stagnate, supporting DH through work upheaval and family ructions, plus my family have decided they want to come for Christmas already! Blu lol at yelping ?no? to you mother ? that?s what I felt like doing. But feeling better and more positive after a few days good food and more slepp ? it really works.

Sorry to hear about everyone?s troubles. WWW we have had major family issues over the last year or so ? huge sympathies, it?s draining and incredibly upsetting. L and S good luck with the move ? lovely to have a new start and move on to the next phase of your life I should think.

Marina ? St John?s Wort has done wonders for my DH (was v sceptical but he is now takes no anti-ds at all and is on good form most of the time). Sorry to hear you?re so low.

Good luck to all with interviews/ important job meetings coming up. And Arfishy ? I would like some top tips on ceiling shattering too ? if I can ever be bothered to try it!

Oh Arfy, it sounds very similar to The Rules of work which I try to follow, it says stuff like "don't swear, ever. Be cool, calm, collected. Look smart. Fit in: if everyone takes their jackets off, you do too. Establish a niche for yourself. Keep records" that type of stuff. All v good. Not sure I DO want perm tbh, I like the freedom of being a contractor. What do you think of this? Int last week, went ok, now they want me to go back for another int (fine, although unusual for contract work) and a TWO HOUR test. I feel like telling them to stick it, it means I have to cancel my counselling session (as won't want to cry and then go for int), it means I lose a half day at work (not that boss will know tbh) but I am just mightily annoyed about it. I don't want to go. Have written but not sent irritated email to agent sending me there. He's pissed off too.

Love the expression "up the huff tree"

Woo hoo on I&N, I haven't been v good at sticking to it, sadly.

Oh and the test is to check that I can do what I've been doing for te past 10+ years (managing people, not technical). Erm, as a contractor I'd have been FIRED if I couldn't do it!

WWW did you get all the way to phase 3?

no foo, still on phase 1
ish

Ah. I am finding phase 1 challenging as am not a meat eater - am eating lots of fish though. And I have a bit of a headache. Tomorrow is day five which is supposed to be the ninth circle..

i would tell them to stick their test by the way, unless you really want the job.

Tell them to stick the test www - dh recently changed jobs and is vair happy now. He was told his interview process would consist of 2 hour long interviews, then a whole day of testing and interviews in London, then, if he passed the test, 2 days of interviews in Edinburgh (They also wanted me to go up to check I was suitable corporate wife material). He told them he wasn't that interested in a company that was so anal about it's interview process when his business was all about people not psychometrics. When this was relayed to the company, his now boss called him direct, invited him out for dinner, and informally offered him the job 2 bottles of wine later! He still had to do a dinner and 6 hours of interviews in Edinburgh, but they were with chief exec types and a mere formality so he didn't mind.
If they want you, they'll capitulate. If they don't, do you really want to work for a company that relies on tests? It's almost as bad as one that doesn't have a tea-fairy!

"They also wanted me to go up to check I was suitable corporate wife material"

pru!!!!!

is this 2008, or wot???

thanks Pru. Sent stiff email to agent saying hang on, 5 hours (2 hours travel + 1 hr int, + 2 hrs test on top of 2 hours I've ALREADY done there) for a CONTRACT? And they agreed they would call me today to tell me how awful the situation is there ( sell me that job, why don't you?) and see I still fancy going for hours on Monday. So I think it's my get out clause, will have a chat and then say nah to Monday's interview I think. Fk it, my 2 months off is looking more likely by the day!

lol at tea fairy, I was thinking about that yesterday too!

Yes absolutely at corp wife

www do you think they'll want to suss out your dh??

Oooh, I have just spotted a new opening in the market for Out Of Work Actresses - be a body double for a coporate wife on Interview Day.

How outrageous!

Can you IMAGINE a female applicant being asked to produce a scrubbed-up DH!

Really sorry about the earache crisis, WWW.

Sending big hugs to Marina..

And have you oldies seen that KS is back? She has a thread today, as 'EnduringSurrey'

oops - x-posted with Bundle (as my post was interrupted by a frantic employee whose savings for her imminent wedding are in Icesave)

Just had FIFTY minute phone interview

If they come back with an offer I might take it

If they come back and ask for a 2 hour test next week I probably won't tbh

lol at my dh being produced, what a cheek, can't quite believe that.

Oh no Blu at Icesave and lol at out of work actresses working as corp wives. What DOES a corp wife look like anyway? The cheek of it.

corp wife reminds me of Abigail's party et al

just had champers (£40+ a bottle kind) and lovely lemon/almond cake in office as colleague leaving for pastures new...hic

I'm actually quite good at the corporate wifey thing, and it means I do get to go to some lovely restaurants His new firm is a bit like "The Firm" - we have to attend shooting weekends in Scotland - male partners are invited too, though as there are only 3 women (Head of HR, Head of Resources and Head of Legal) at exec level they will be quite outnumbered.

It is quite a shocking state of affairs isn't it -I think it's because it's a relatively small company (200 staff in total) and senior staff are expected to work all hours, and invest heavily in the company, in the expectation that they will do 5-10 years only and then retire having made their millions. I do think that kind of all or nothing, risky environment is only really suitable/attractive to men who have women at home to pick up the pieces of their lives for them. In fact I know that only one of the sales and marketing team has a wife who works.

hellloooooo

anyone here actually bootcamping?......

no, I thought not

might be safe for Iota the slacker to return in that case

and again at corp wife thing. how Jerry and MArgot