The Bluestocking - where women are women, and small furry animals are gerbils, quokkas, capybaras, or a red panda called Rosy

[MarieDeGournay]

Welcome all to the Bluestocking Pub, a haven safe from harsh reality [mostly] full of good company, and excellent food and drink served by the most efficient team of gerbils in the hospitality industry.

Hic...

To add to the joys of the day, I’ve just received an email from my local council to say that I can now use my free bus pass on buses before 9:30am as long as they start within the county.

Oooh there's nice!

Dropping by after a long-ish absence for all kinds of busy, boring reasons to say Cheers! Not yet able to celebrate with a drink IRL, I wanted to down a couple of pina coladas with a generous pile of anything Tunnocksy and toast all you lovely Blue Stocking-ers, before returning, less reluctantly than usual, to a brighter reality for women than yesterday - thank you FWS and all. 💚🤍💜 🍹

Hic.

I haven’t heard the word stocious since my dad died, @MarieDeGournay - it is an excellent word and I’m glad to be reminded of it. If I am honest, I have sometimes wondered if he made it up, but clearly not.

Glad it was a happy reminder, Woley
It's a very Dublin word, though probably used elsewhere in Ireland too.
It's etymology is anyone's guess!

Mor acholol pleese bar gerbilz

'Alcolol'😂😂

Good news for us to - DHs eyes are stable, doesn’t have to start oral steroids at this point, and eyedrops down from 4x daily for one of them which means he doesn’t have to wake up to do them in the night.
The appointment was very late because the consultant had had an emergency to deal with but I’d remembered to take a book this time and they have a tea trolley.

Very good news, Errol, glad to hear it.

Hello again @catiette and also @chersfrozenface whom I've not seen for a bit.
Good to have you back in the bar on this auspicious day.
Hic.

Unfortunately the panel of men decided (it was a difficult decision, I'm told) to go for the middle-aged white man, but it was very very close.

This pisses me off on so many levels. It wasn't a difficult decision, they very likely said I was too ambitious in my presentation but had I been a bloke I bet I would have been offered the job on Friday afternoon. Because a man would be strong and ambitious, not female and ambitious.

If it was so very, very close why not choose the candidate who is immediately available?

They were scared to choose a woman, so they went for the safe option.

And I drank wine last night so I'm staying sober tonight.

That really sucks, @MyrtleLion. I'm sorry. Have some Bluestocking non-inebriating alcohol instead.

Thank you, @FuzzyPuffling. I spent a long weekend escaping the various cruddy things and drinking quite a lot of actual alcohol.

Incidentally, 'cruddities' ought to be a word for life's unpleasantnesses - not to be confused with the cutted up raw vegetables a friend if mine used to call "bourgeois bits".

Edit to adjust spelling

So sorry, @MyrtleLion - that would definitely be a cruddity in my book.

Oh damn, so sorry to hear that, @MyrtleLion

Oh Myrtle what rotters. I'm so sorry.
They probably would have been misogynistic prats to work for. May their next shit be a cactus.

Now have a Gerbilgin and a hug with Rosy and the quokkas. We all love you.

Thank you. It's an organisation that really ought to be more supportive of women because of its focus - not women's rights but things associated with women.

I spent 30 hours on the presentation, researching and wording it exactly right. I even did two versions: a picture version to avoid death by PowerPoint and a text version that I turned into a pdf handout that I printed out professionally for each of the panel and gave them after my presentation so they could refer to it during the rest of the interview and in their discussions.

You know it's not happening when it's an easy process until it isn't any more.

I'm sorry Myrtle, it's their loss. Desolation to them.

Oh POO Myrtle, stooopid men. Their loss on one level, but also a loss for you and all the people your work would have been good for.

That said, I can look back through time at jobs and things I didn't get, and remember the devastation and sense of rejection, but also feel so glad that I didn't get them because of reasons that really would have made them a bad fit for me (including the people and systems I'd have had to work with).

Pretty cold comfort, but onwards and upwards.

Very sorry, lovely Myrtle. Grrrr.
As we say round here, they have no taste.

I'm sorry, Myrtle, that is shit. It's so enraging when you know you'd be good at whatever-it-is and never get the chance to prove it.

I'm just going up to the bar - let me get you something.

On another note, DH has hurt his arm and is announcing 'Ow!' every five fucking seconds. FML, he should try childbirth.

I once didn't get a job ( charity CEO) because a certain politician, who was a supporter of theirs, put his patsy in instead. She lasted a few months before she ( and they) realised she had none of the required skills. The recruitment consultant was horrified at their shortsightedness.

Serves them right.

And whenever I see him on the telly I shout at him.

One day Myrtle the perfect fit job will present itself to you. And soon...

I once never even got to the interview. I rang them up to let them know that I wasn't Mr Boiledbeetle as their letter inviting me to an interview stated but a woman. Suddenly there was no job so no need to attend the interview!