Blog Entries
Bad advice
I've been thinking about stretching my ears for quite some time. I've read up one people's experiences on it (and their advice), so I don't exactly have NO IDEA about it. I know not to skip gauges, to keep the ears clean - much like you would if you'd have just gotten them pierced, etc.
I was in town on Saturday and thought I'd have a look around the two best known piercing shops and seeing what they had to offer. I had also planned to talk to the person who pierces me and to see what they have to say.
Sadly, Tribal Voice has been closed until this Friday because it's been flooded. So, off I went to Blue Banana.
I was just looking at the plugs, tapers and stuff and one of the cashiers asked if they could help. So I said that I was planning on stretching my ears.
She 'advised' me on starting with 10g (2.4mm) CBRs. She said that my holes are 20g (0.8mm) (they're actually at 14g (1.6mm)), so starting off with more than double the width would obviously be a good idea.
I did buy the CBRs (not for use NOW though, I'm waiting for my crescent stretchers to come through the post 
) and I thought that I'd give it a go; try and get those babies into my ears. I didn't put much effort into it but I could immediately tell that they weren't going to just slide into my ears, so I've left it.
If I'd have followed her advice, I'd probably have very sore, swollen and most likely torn earlobes. I'm so glad that I'm not an idiot.
Let that be a lesson, kids - ask a professional before doing any modding to yourself. The piercers should be happy to give you free information.
22nd birthday
Well, I turned 22 on the 30th. I feel old.
The day started off rather BLAH because I had to go to work and the bus was a little late. I also got a "no" when I asked my manager if I could get my lip pierced (labret piercings = love) but human resources said that facial piercings are not allowed. 
But nevermind!
I got some awesome presents though! 
I'm (still) obsessed with Bagpuss and my brother got me a Bagpuss plushie:
My mum and step-dad got me a turquoise, hoodie-less hoodie by Animal:
(my mum finally 'got' that I prefer my hoodies BIG, so got me the largest size she could, haha!)
I think the colour's stunning; I love it!
My supervisor, Nikki, bought me a cute little flowering cactus, which I've named Bobbi:
Her flower's fallen off, though.^
My sister got me a funky necklace, which I love!
I got disgustingly spoilt by Myke though!
Sweeney Todd on DVD:
I wanted to watch this when it first came out. The fact that it was a musical put me off a little bit (not a big fan of musicals!) but I still wanted to watch it! Before we got to watch it, I'd forgotten about it.
I watched it with him [Myke] and - it's awesome. And Johnny Depp was fantastic, as always!
Second present:
A custom mouse mat! With a photo I took when we went on holiday!
This has to be one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received. It sits on my desk at work, where everyone can see it!
My last present from Myke?
Yesss, a new digital camera! When I saw it, I just went "Oh, you didn't!" and then started to get all teary (but not in a sad way!).
I was hoping it'd be bright and sunny when I got home tonight but it's raining and dark, so I haven't been able to test it fully yet but it seems to take some really awesome photos!
So, tell me. Do I look older now?
Feeling overwhelmed but I just added to it
There is so much to remember for this job (what to do, how to do it, when to do it, etc). And to make my "newness" so much easier to cope with, I've had to learn how to do other people's jobs, so I could cover them while they're away on holiday.
I'm not complaining, it's just that I've had so much information pushed at me since I started this job, I'm fighting a losing battle with my already terrible memory...
Apparently, I filled in a form to grant me access to a system, so I can do another bit of my job. I say apparently because I don't remember filling in this form. I had to ask my supervisor if she remembered me filling in this form. And I even had someone from the company I had to send the form off to, tell me exactly what my signature looked like.
But still - I remember NOTHING about this form.
There are also a lot of other things I've apparently done which, again, I don't remember.
The worst thing I've forgotten? That it's my birthday on Monday. I didn't realise until I saw the date and thought "Oh, wait, doesn't something happen at the end of this month?". OH YEAH! MY BLOODY BIRTHDAY!
I'm also about to start my NVQ level 2 in Business & Admin. And because my GCSEs are over 5 years old, and therefore completely useless to use as proxies because they're "too old", I need to take a level 1 exam for Numeracy Key Skills and a level 2 exam for Communication Key Skills.
Key Skills level 2 is the equivalent of a GCSE in that subject. GCSEs aren't good enough for me anymore, I want A Level equivalents. So I'm going to push myself and get a level 3 in both Numeracy and Communication Key Skills.
Once I've got the NVQ and the level 3s, I'll be going on to another NVQ (level 3, perhaps? Or maybe I'll do the level 2 in Customer Service...).
Hopefully, I won't suffer a mental breakdown as a result of all of this!
