Jando

QotD: What Can Blogging Do for You?

nobody@vox.com(Jando) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:13:28 +0100

What does blogging do for you?
Submitted by Madeleine Rose.

It satisfies me in a way no other internet-based activity can. Twice a week it collects my laundry and does the ironing. On Sundays it does a roast with all the trimmings. It ensures that my nails are always perfectly manicured. It will go out in the rain to get me DVDs and popcorn if I'm feeling low. It never misses a round at the pub and it knows just how I like my crumpets. It laughs at my jokes and never leaves the seat up.

Oh blogging, how I love thee.

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Do I want to send an error report?

nobody@vox.com(Jando) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:52:27 +0100

Bloody stupid work network has just deleted a post mid-way through writing.

Bastards.

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QotD: Kindgergarten Rules of Wisdom

nobody@vox.com(Jando) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:32:52 +0100

What did you learn in kindergarten that you wish you did a better job of applying to the way you live your life today?

At kindergarten I was told off for colouring people in yellow but I only did it because I didn't have a light pink pencil and red was too dark in living my life today I wish I could apply a better job of not colouring in people yellow when they wouldn't mind being red espeically if they've been in the sun for a long time if they were white to start off with.

That and constructing sentences.

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Vox Hunt: Favorite Font

nobody@vox.com(Jando) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:30:27 +0100

Show us your favorite font.
Submitted by [this is connie].

Font

This is the font at St Michaels in Highgate where both of the children were christened. If I had to choose a favourite font it would be this.

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All about Meme

nobody@vox.com(Jando) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:40:24 +0100

Well, the lovely Aubrey has tagged me and since it is early and the office is quiet, I thought I'd take advantage of the tranquility while it lasts (more on this later). Here's how it goes,

"Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names."

1. What were you doing 10 years ago? Rather tragically, I was working right here, although at a different site. I was slowly building my business empire against the backdrop of shit leadership (leadershit?). The Deppity was being Acting Chief Exec (sound familiar?), because the real Chief Exec had left under a cloud after it emerged that he had allegedly lied to a government select committee about taking bribes and a non-existant register of interest. We were in Private Eye and everything. Happy days.

2. What five (non-work) things are on my to-do list today?

Going to local print centre and getting a poster made up for O's school summer fair. Our class are running the face paint stall and I've manipulated the famous Kitchener poster:

Your country

It now reads, "RT Parents, Your Summer Fair Needs YOU" and I've added some photos of children with their faces painted and I've done a table so parents can sign up for a slot to do face painting at the fair. I am well organised when I want to be.

My next task will be to leave work, go home and hang the washing up outside before...

Collecting O from school; we will go home and no doubt play 'Indiana Jones' on the DS before ...

collecting J from nursery, going home and cooking their dinner before ...

Meeting up with some imaginary internet friends for boozahol.

3. Snacks I enjoy: popcorn, black olives with grated orange peel from Waitrose, lightly salted Doritos, cashew nuts, sausage rolls, Hula Hoops (original flavour), hummus with warm pitta - to summarise, savoury rather than sweet.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: I'd spend a lot more time with the children. I would buy a 5 bedroom house in Highgate, apartments in Lisbon and Singapore, cottage in Oxfordshire and a villa in Tuscany. I'd wipe out all of my brothers' debts and get them the house and dog of their dreams. I'd set up and run a holiday scheme so cancer patients and their families can have proper, supported breaks and lots more stuff - I'm still getting my head around nine zeros.

5. Places I have lived: Please refer to this.

6. Jobs I have had: I had a paper-round when I was 14 - I was so excited when my mother came home to tell me she'd arranged it with the bloke at the post office - I couldn't believe that I was actually going to be paid £4 a week to deliver papers - I thought I would have to pay for the priviledge. I couldn't believe that I was doing something that kids on TV did; I felt like I was part of a sort of Grange Hill gang. I gave that up for my O Levels and took a Saturday job in a fancy card shop in Richmond, working 10am-4pm - I think I got about £10 for that - I just sat at the till, arranged stock and met up with my friends straight afterwards to go drinking. I left that job to revise for A Levels and after A Levels I worked in Harrods confectionary department for a month and then afterwards as a Saturday girl. I've never eaten so many rum truffles in my life. After secretarial college I went back to Harrods to the Fish Counter (smoked, as opposed to wet) - it didn't make any difference to the rest of Harrods staff which counter you worked on - you still smelled so we had to keep to ourselves in the canteen. I then progressed to the Pantry in Harrods, which is where the 'drop outs' were sent apparently. I left after 3 months and started as a receptionist at a sailing club, becoming senior receptionist after a year. I then had a period of unemployment when I would occasionally work for my landlord/lady who ran a company which placed people in work in skiing resorts, but by and large I wasn't really into working that much - fortunately my rent was cheap and my dad would bail me out every so often. I then got a job the Kuwait Embassy in the cultural attache's office where I had to look after Kuwaiti students who were travelling to this country to study, so I sorted out all their visas, accommodation, allowances etc., sent their certificates back to Kuwait etc. After uni I started working here - first as a receptionist, then as office manager, I then became administrator for part of the work I do now, working to a part-time director. When we merged, he was made redundant so I became manager for the whole area, I've taken on running the whole charity, set up two new awards programmes and taken on a work shadowing scheme.

I now tag anyone who's bored and wants to do this.

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Something missing?

nobody@vox.com(Jando) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:44:59 +0100

So there was all this reaction to the party on the underground last weekend. The comments following the Guardian piece range from "These are all drunken yobs and England should be drowned" to "I was there and it was brilliant" and all shades in between (some people should get out more).

Before the 'ban' was introduced, I spoke to my brother about it, who works on the underground and I asked him if the underground staff were expected to enforce the ban - after all, they're trained to be drivers, guards, ticket inspectors, track inspectors etc., but I wasn't sure if they'd actually signed up to make sure people weren't travelling with open bottles or cans of intoxicating liquid.

My brother told me that drinking alcohol on the underground was already banned - it's an existing by-law that has been around for yonks. He said that it doesn't tend to be a problem, except on New Year's Eve, and whilst staff don't turn a blind eye as such, they'll only tackle someone if they're being abusive or dangerous.

All Boris had done was put up a few posters and prompted the party. It was like him stepping into his mayoral office on day one and proclaiming, "From now on, men shall no longer have periods. I'm going to take the 'men' out of 'mensturation'" and then fling up a few posters. I'm just rather surprised that I haven't come across any reports that make reference to this.

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QotD: Homes Sweet Homes

nobody@vox.com(Jando) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:42:28 +0100

How many houses have you lived in? How is where you live now different from where you grew up?

Thirteen.

1969-1971 - Flat in Earls Court - moved for my father's job

1971-1972 - Flat in Preston - moved before my brother was born

1972-1977 - House in Preston - moved for my father's job

1977-1989 - House in Chiswick - moved because was asked to leave

Jan89-April89 - Room in house in Southfields - moved because landlady was objectionable

May89-August89 - Flatshare in Shephards Bush - moved because flatmate wanted his best friend to move in

August89 - Room in house in Kingston - friend put me up while she was on holiday from uni

September89-March90 - Bedsit in Tooting - moved because I felt unsafe and bad memories

March90-June90 - Bedsit in Putney - moved because was offered cheaper bedsit

June90-September92 - Bedsit in Eaton Square - moved to live with boyfriend

September92-July94 - Flat in Fulham - moved to buy our first home

July94-March99 - 1 bed flat in Highgate - moved to buy a bigger home for kiddywinks

March99-present - 2 bed flat in Highgate

And next year we hope to move again (market permitting). I am hoping it will be my final move.

How is where I grew up different from where I live now? I can't say - where I grew up is different then from now - it's not really a comparison worth making. My parents bought their house in Preston for £5k - it was a beautiful five bedroom house overlooking a park. Five years later they sold it for £21k and moved down to London. Yes it was a lot of money in those days, but I would imagine it would take my dad about two years to make £21k back then - today, it would take me about 10 years to earn the market price for our two-bedroom flat. The housing market is bound to affect the neighbourhood you live in - there's no way that my parents would be able to afford the house my dad lives in now if they were in their 30s with three children and on a single income. It'll all end in tears again and I'm just hoping we'll be lucky with our house move.

(Yeah, yeah - who knew I was so ancient?)

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QotD: Midnight Snack Time

nobody@vox.com(Jando) — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:56:00 +0100

What's your favorite midnight snack?
Submitted by Raina.

If I'm still up at midnight it's usually because I've been out on the lash. If I've been out on the lash, my favourite midnight snack is likely to be a kebab.

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8 Randoms that I lost last night

nobody@vox.com(Jando) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:25:42 +0100

Following in the footsteps of Aubrey, Gamba, Emm and MaryJaen I type my 8 again because I'm too busy but probably won't want to do much work until I'm panicking.

1. My first trip in an ambulance was after I'd been hit by a black cab which hadn't indicated its intention to turn into the road and so I started crossing it. It hit me, sped up (I was on the bonnet), braked suddenly (I fell into the road) and then all of its passengers jumped out to help me. The ambulance took me to hospital and they put a neck brace on me and told me not to move. I was in agony, mainly because I wanted to do a pee and I couldn't get up. My work sent round the member of staff I liked least at the time to keep me company. Triple torture. The police prosecuted the driver and when we went to court the driver's barrister accused me of making a complaint only because I'd been hit by a cabbie. All my friends said I should claim compensation, but I just wanted to forget everything and I sort of felt sorry for the cabbie.

2. I tried a brown chicken stew from a West Indian restaurant last night. I won't be having it again - the chicken was mainly gristle and bone, the rice and peas had a grainy texture and the flavour just seemed to be a heavy dose of curry powder. I hardly ate any of it so I drank red wine and ate peanuts instead.

3. When we were younger, my brother and I made up a Dalek song that went, "Exterminate a-ha, a-ha. Exterminate I like to boogie."

4. If I could change one thing about my body it would be never having to wax/pluck/or shave unwanted hair ever again. Weightloss I reckon I could do single-handed.

5. The first time I hitch-hiked was from London to Manchester with a friend. We set off on a whim after being in the pub on a Friday night and got a lift from Fulham to Waterloo in a car with 3 merry lads, went from Waterloo to the Watford Gap with a couple of blokes who were border-line dodgy, then got a lift in the cab of a lorry from the Watford Gap to Manchester airport. From there we got a cab to my friend's halls of residence. The way home, after having no sleep all weekend is a bit hazy - I remember waiting at a service station for ages in the middle of the night and then got a lift from a couple of guys in a van who gave us hot, sweet tea and sandwiches and let us sleep all the way to Earls Court. The trip started a short career as a hitch hiker to see my friends at Uni around the country. I was in self-destruct mode at the time and each time I arrived safely it was like being told I was meant to be alive. Yeah, yeah - very mellow dramatic.

6. My spiritual home is the Yorkshire Dales. It is where my mother is from and where my father grew up. Whenever I go back there I feel as though I could just burst with pride at the beauty of the countryside. When I was little my mother told me that you need never ask anyone if they're from Yorkshire - if they are, they'll tell you within 10 minutes of speaking to them and if they're not then ...

7. Every afternoon, after Captain Pugwash had finished on the television, my brother and I would go into the garden, I would climb up the lilac tree and get a couple of twigs, we'd strip the bark and eat the white bit in the middle. We called this delicacy Captain Polio.

8. My dream home would have 4 bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, study, sitting room, couple of bathrooms, high ceilings, big garden and a cleaner.

Actually, this isn't exactly what I wrote last night - I couldn't remember them all so I changed them.

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Me and blogging

nobody@vox.com(Jando) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:16:24 +0100

just ain't meant to be.

Stupid fingers just accidentally deleted a long post.

Thank you and goodnight.

p.s. Re tomatos, "Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad."

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