Have found a way to justify (to myself) personal web design on company time - I learn new stuff as I am going along rather than learning on a course. The department would pay for me to go on a course so should therefore also pay for me to learn new stuff as I am playing about as it all feeds into the same outcome: I have more knowledge. Don't know how I can pass off Solitaire as career enhancing though..

Feel bad because I have reached that "lack of stimulation" point that I reached in my last job and while I have staying power if I am interested, when I get bored it makes me question everything about the job. Sure, it WILL get interesting and busier in a couple of months but at the moment, dull!dull!dull! and I want to move on. Jeez, this isn't how I thought it would be.

Saying all this, the work I have done today is a tad more interesting than normal because I've had the chance to put together some new web pages for the department and that is way better than the rest of the stuff I am doing at the moment.

It still sucks though.

I know how you feel though. If I have soup in my work mug, I can wash the cup half a dozen times and still taste the full tomatoey flavour for months afterwards. Like pickled onion crisps are immune to toothpaste, soup is immune to cleaning.

I don't wash my tea mug much and due to the amount of sugar I have in tea, it tends to caramalise and grow new life forms. Forget flash, the only way to clean my mug is with a chisel.

Holiday summary:
Days 1 to 8 (ie, Saturday to Saturday): did lots of cool stuff. spent lots of money. mum and dad came to stay. a friend came to stay. meal out with friends. meal in with friends. bought a freezer. travelled about a bit. another meal out with friends. cinema. juvenile antics on an arcade game (and I won!). splurged my creative juices. did good stuff.
Day 9 (Easter Sunday): boyfriend's brother lends us his PSOne (ohmigod, they're so cute and tiny!). Developed Tekken thumb. Still in pain.
Day 10 (Easter Monday): Rented a snowboarding game. Developed wrist pain from holding controller too tightly. Won the Worms mini tournament thing we had (hahah!)
Day 11 (yesterday): Had to wait in for the freezer to be delivered. Further developed thumb and wrist afflications. Boyfriend finally fixes home internet connection the day before I get paid to have access (here).

God, I hate video games: they suck out all life and desire to do anything else.

So far have been in work for over an hour but not done anything even remotely work related. It is disgraceful I know.

But goody! 11 days off after today! Woohoooooo!

People in advertising are so stupid. The current ad that makes me want to rip out my eyeballs and a whole big heap of things necessary for hearing, is the one for Herbal Essences shampoo. It has had the complete opposite effect than it should - I used to like the pink Herbal Essences shampoo but I will NEVER used it again after the waste of perfectly good video that was used to make that advert. If you don't know which one I mean, it is the Ally McBeal esque one in the courtroom where the strangely model-like lawyer claims she has an 'urge to Erbal', and the judge asks in a so witty way for them to order her a bottle. Then the ad goes on to promote a 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner product which gives you 'double the essence' or some crap like that.

Complaint #1: Ally McBeal is shite. It looked okay to start with, when they actually covered the odd case, but slowly, no wait, quickly became a self-parodying (and not in a good way) farce, with ridiculous, unrealistic plots that if they were horses would be taken out and shot (and not just with this whole foot and mouth thing going on). It should not, therefore, be used as inspiration for ANYTHING.

Complaint #2: American accents. Presumably to follow on from the Ally McShite thing, they all speak with american accents. And since they are badly dubbed, I would say it had been made in Britain so some advertising w*nker up there decided to dub into bad american accents, maybe because no one would ever believe a British person would do that sort of thing. Of course this leads on to...

Complaint #3: "'ERBAL". H. Atch. No offence to you american people out there, but there is a 'H' there - please use it.

Complaint #4: The Judge. No one that brain dead could ever become a judge. or a lawayer for that matter. Although if judges can just demand shampoo, I might change my career path (to a judge-murdering psychopath).

Complaint #5: Now this is the bit where it really gets my goat (and my goat doesn't like it one bit) - the end bit about the 2-in-1 stuff. If you are using 1 bottle of stuff instead of 2, how on earth can it be double the essence or double the fun whatever the little catch phrase is? Double, my arse. Hello? it's basic maths. HALF. HALF THE AMOUNT. It is like people who say "cheap at half the price" - yes, things do tend to be cheaper at half the price. If it was still cheap at double the price, then I would be impressed. MORONS.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, now I feel cleansed. And how are you all?

I feel like this today even though I am only 21.

I think O Connell got over it by doing something "wacky" that was one of her teenage goals. I would what I will have to do.

Also, think I have conjuctivitis. whoopee.

I think I have worked out why I am sleepy - I think I have a cold coming on. *fantastic*

I could go home now and enjoy this sunny friday afternoon but i think I'll stick it out for a little while yet (it's hardly as if I am working anyway) as I am trying to convince boss (who is working from home today) that I do lots of work and therefore deserve some time off at Easter that doesn't come off my leave entitlement. I think I'll be off from next Friday until the Wednesday after Easter (maybe later) - coolio!

OOh house inspection yesterday - well that was a pile of crap. The last one we had was quite thorough but the one yesterday... I was sat on the doorsteps of bruising (see 27/03/01 entry) watching the now-nadless randy old boy cat perv on a nubile young tabby and white when inspection woman pulls up. We have a micro-conversation on the steps about cats and then she walks into the living room for a nano-second, asks if everything is okay, tells me I have scratched myself on the chest (no, I didn't scratch myself..) and then leaves. A combined total of about 6 hours cleaning and tidying for that?! GRRRR. I would have prefered a thorough inspection to show off.

YAWN!

Only half an hour to go though - am leaving early because house is being inspected by landlord-esque people as a condition of the contract renewal (so have spent every evening this week frantically cleaning to make it look presentable - therefore a good time for passing geeks to visit). Can't believe we have been over here nearly a year though, I guess that is a sign of either:
1) me getting old, or
2) life passing me by
either way, not good.

I sense a **fantastic** day in the offing.